California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

House Resolution No. 42

Introduced by Assembly Member Roger Hernández

March 10, 2016

House Resolution No. 42—Relative to César Chávez.

WHEREAS, César Estrada Chávez recognized that for many
people, spanning many generations and many ethnicities, the path
to a better life frequently begins in the fields. For many
farmworkers, the American Dream means a life of self-sacrifice,
hard work, and perseverance; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez experienced the hardships and
injustices of farmworker life firsthand. He was born on March 31,
1927, in the North Gila River Valley in Arizona, on the small
family farm his grandfather homesteaded. César Chávez’s father
lost the farm during the Great Depression, forcing the family to
join some 30,000 farmworkers who followed the crops throughout
California and lived in tents and makeshift housing that often
lacked a bathroom, electricity, or running water; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez understood the value of education
as a path to a better life because he quit school after completing
the 8th grade to work full time, helping to support his family in
the fields. Later in life, César Chávez became self-educated through
his passion for reading; and

WHEREAS, Although later a pacifist, in 1946, César Chávez
enrolled and served his country in the United States Navy. He was
honorably discharged whereupon he married Helen Fabela and
eventually settled in the East San Jose barrio nicknamed “Sal Si
Puedes” (“Get Out if You Can”) to raise a family that eventually
numbered eight children; and

WHEREAS, In San Jose, César Chávez was introduced to the
social teachings of the Catholic Church and trained in peaceful
community organizing strategies and tactics. César Chávez and
Fred Ross, an organizer for the Community Service Organization
(CSO), established CSO chapters across California and Arizona
during the 1950s, helping Latinos register to vote, pushing for
basic public services and infrastructure in the barrios, peacefully
battling police brutality and racial discrimination, and creating the
most effective Latino civil rights group of its era; and

WHEREAS, In 1962, after failing to convince the CSO to let
him organize farmworkers, César Chávez resigned from the only
decent paying job he ever held and moved his wife and eight
children to Delano, California. There, with $1,200 in life savings
that was soon gone, César Chávez, his family, and close friends
began building the National Farm Workers Association, which
later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW); and

WHEREAS, In 1965, in a partnership with a union of Filipino
American farmworkers, César Chávez organized a major strike
against grape growers in California. The following year, César
Chávez led an unprecedented 340-mile march, from Delano to
Sacramento, that placed the farmworkers’ plight before the
conscience of the American people. Supporters carried slogans
with the words “HUELGA” (strike) and “VIVA LA CAUSA”
(long live our cause), advocating for improved compensation and
labor conditions. Later efforts resulted in the enactment of
California’s historic Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, the
first and still the only law in the nation to “encourage and protect”
the right of farmworkers to organize and bargain with their
employers; and

WHEREAS, Through countless strikes, boycotts, marches, and
fasts that produced many victories and some defeats, César Chávez,
who even considered vegetarianism an integral part of living
nonviolently, never stopped his peaceful battles on behalf of the
farmworkers with whom he shared his life. His dedication to his
work earned him the respect of some of our greatest political and
civil rights leaders, including Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Jesse Jackson. César Chávez’s motto in life, “Sí Se
Puede!” or “Yes We Can!” has served as an inspiration not only
for Latinos, but for working Americans of all walks of life; and

WHEREAS, In 1993, César Chávez died peacefully in his sleep
in San Luis, Arizona. Forty thousand people marched behind his
plain pine casket during funeral services in Delano to honor this
man. They came to affirm César Chávez’s words from his landmark
1984 address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco: “Once
social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate
the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the
person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are
not afraid anymore”; and

WHEREAS, Although César Chávez was uncomfortable with
personal recognition in life, since his passing Chávez has been
honored in hundreds of communities. César Chávez was awarded
“El Aguila Azteca” (the Aztec Eagle), Mexico’s highest award
presented to people of Mexican heritage. In 1994, President Bill
Clinton posthumously presented César Chávez with America’s
highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2006,
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger inducted César
Chávez into the first class of the California Hall of Fame. In 2011,
the United States Navy announced naming the latest Lewis and
Clark-class cargo ship being built in San Diego the USNS César
Chávez; and

WHEREAS, Since César Chávez’s passing, the UFW has
continued his work through organizing farmworkers and campaigns
to enact laws and regulations to bring dignity and protections to
farmworkers. Meanwhile, the César Chávez Foundation continues
improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of farmworkers and
other low-wage working families through 30 high-quality
affordable housing communities it has built or renovated and
manages in four states, a network of nine popular educational
Spanish-language radio stations in three states, after-school tutoring
for disadvantaged students in two states, and the National Chávez
Center, including a visitor center, memorial gardens, and
educational center on 187 acres in the Tehachapi Mountains where
César Chávez lived and worked, and is buried; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez successfully increased public
awareness of farmworker working conditions. To many
Californians the farmworkers’ struggles are an issue from the past,
a belief reflected by the fact that farmworker suffering typically
takes place in remote areas far from cities, thereby rendering
farmworkers invisible to our society. The fruits and vegetables
that we enjoy in our daily lives are produced by farmworkers who
often endure long hours of backbreaking work and still face
challenges such as inadequate enforcement of pesticide, safety,
and labor protection laws in the fields; and

WHEREAS, Farmworkers still dream of providing a better life
for their children, but the reality of having to move from crop to
crop makes this dream hard to achieve. Economic forces and the
rising cost of living have pushed farmworkers further into poverty;
and

WHEREAS, In 2000, the Legislature passed and Governor Gray
Davis signed into law Senate Bill 984 (Chapter 213 of the Statutes
of 2000) to create the first annual state holiday in the country on
César Chávez’s birthday, March 31. Under that law, the State
Board of Education also created a statewide curriculum on Chávez
and encourages schools across the state to engage teachers and
students in service learning projects as a way of honoring the
legendary farm labor and civil rights leader; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly calls upon all Californians to observe César Chávez’s
birthday, March 31, as a day of public service; and be it further

Resolved, That the Assembly calls upon all Californians to
recognize the hard work and self-sacrifice that farmworkers go
through to feed all the families in our state; and be it further

Resolved, That the Assembly calls upon all Californians to learn
from César Chávez’s life and his mission of nonviolence, social
justice, and selfless service to others; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Chávez family, particularly César Chávez’s
widow, Helen Chávez, the United Farm Workers of America, the
César Chávez Foundation, and the author for appropriate
distribution.