Bill Text: CA ACR12 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: César Chávez Day.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 49-16)
Status: (Passed) 2011-09-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 79, Statutes of 2011. [ACR12 Detail]
Download: California-2011-ACR12-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 12 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 79
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 29, 2011
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mendoza
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins,
Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, and Yamada)
JANUARY 31, 2011
Relative to César Chávez Day.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 12, Mendoza. César Chávez Day.
This measure would recognize March 31, 2011, as the anniversary of
the birth of César Chávez, and would call upon all Californians to
participate in appropriate observances to remember César Chávez as a
symbol of hope and justice to all persons.
WHEREAS, On March 31, 1927, a true hero named César Estrada Chávez
was born in Yuma, Arizona, to Librado and Juana Chávez. He was
second oldest in a family of five children. César Chávez lived his
life dedicated to improving the plight of farmworkers through
struggle, sacrifice, and self-denial. He established and led the
first successful farmworkers' union in United States history. He
stood for dignity and justice for farmworkers. Today, he remains a
symbol of hope to all Californians who find hope and peace in
justice; and
WHEREAS, In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, César Chávez'
father lost his small farming business, and the family went broke.
The family became migrant workers and joined some 30,000 workers who
followed the crops from Arizona into southern California, then up the
length of the central valley and back again, picking everything from
peas to cotton. They lived in tents and other makeshift housing that
often lacked a bathroom, electricity, or running water. Schooling
for Chávez was irregular and haphazard. He attended some 30 different
schools, often encountered discrimination, and was punished for
speaking Spanish; and
WHEREAS, After graduation from the 8th grade, César Chávez was
forced to quit school and take to the fields in order to help support
his family. In 1944, at 17 years of age, César Chávez joined the
Navy and served in World War II. After he completed his tour of duty,
César Chávez returned to California and married Helen Fabela, a
woman who shared his dedication to the cause of the farmworker. They
lived in San Jose in a tough Mexican neighborhood called "Sal Si
Puedes" which translates to "get out if you can," and together raised
eight children; and
WHEREAS, As a farmworker, César Chávez experienced firsthand the
injustice of working long hours with little pay. Instilled with a
sense of justice passed down from his mother, César Chávez made a
decision to speak up and fight for change. He took part in his first
strike in protest of low wages and poor working conditions for
farmworkers. Although initially unsuccessful, his participation in
that first strike was to mark the beginning of a long career in which
he fought for improved working and living conditions for
farmworkers; and
WHEREAS, In 1962, César Chávez resigned his position with the
Community Services Organization to embark on a bold new undertaking
to form a farmworkers' union. He was joined by the great Dolores
Huerta, and together they became the architects of the National Farm
Worker's Union, the forerunner to the present United Farm Workers
(UFW); and
WHEREAS, In 1965, César Chávez led a strike of California
grapepickers to demand higher wages and urged all Americans to
boycott table grapes as a show of support. The strike included a
340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento in 1966 in which thousands
of farmworkers and supporters marched in solidarity. The farmworkers
and supporters carried banners with the black eagle with the words
"HUELGA" (strike) and "VIVA LA CAUSA" (long live our cause); and
WHEREAS, César Chávez preached nonviolence to the strikers even as
they were physically abused by many of those opposed to the grape
boycott. In 1968, he began a Ghandi-like fast to call attention to
the migrant workers' cause. Although his dramatic act did little to
solve the immediate problem, it increased public awareness of the
conditions under which farmworkers labored. In 1973, the UFW
organized a strike for higher wages from lettuce growers, and, after
many battles, an agreement was finally reached in 1977 that gave the
UFW the sole right to organize farmworkers; and
WHEREAS, During the 1980s, César Chávez led the effort to call
attention to the health problems of farmworkers caused by the use of
certain pesticides on crops; and
WHEREAS, On April 23, 1993, César Estrada Chávez died peacefully
in his sleep in San Luis, Arizona. During his funeral, Cardinal Roger
M. Mahony, who celebrated the funeral mass, called César Chávez "a
special prophet for the world's farmworkers"; and
WHEREAS, Many declared that the UFW would die without him, but on
César Chávez' birthday, March 31, 1994, under the leadership of his
son-in-law, Arturo Rodríguez, the UFW marched 343 miles from Delano
to Sacramento, echoing César Chávez' historic 1966 march, and
demonstrated that the UFW still worked for farmworkers; and
WHEREAS, In 1990, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari
awarded César Chávez "El Aguila Azteca" (the Aztec Eagle), Mexico's
highest award presented to people of Mexican heritage who have made
major contributions outside Mexico. He also became the second Mexican
American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest
civilian honor in the United States, which was presented posthumously
to his wife, Helen Chávez, and their children on August 8, 1994, by
President William Jefferson Clinton; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, César Chávez' family and the officers of the UFW
created the César E. Chávez Foundation to inspire current and future
generations by promoting the ideals of César Chávez' life, work, and
vision. Communities throughout California and the United States have
honored the memory of César Chávez by naming schools, parks,
children's centers, streets, and other public works after the great
labor leader; and
WHEREAS, César Chávez led by example, giving of himself so that he
might help others. His relentless pursuit of the belief that the
American dream should be available to all Americans, regardless of
race or national origin, stands as a monument to our free society.
His life and work is not only an inspiration to Latinos, but to
working Americans of all nationalities. His legacy lives on in the
improved working and living conditions of hundreds of thousands of
Californians and their families; and
WHEREAS, In the year 2000, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 984
(Chapter 213 of the Statutes of 2000) to create an annual state
holiday on César Chávez' birthday, March 31. This holiday provides
all Californians the opportunity to learn from César Chávez' life and
provides schoolchildren the opportunity to learn through community
service; and
WHEREAS, The State Board of Education on Wednesday, February 6,
2002, adopted a model curriculum on the life and work of César
Chávez, fulfilling a key provision of Chapter 213 of the Statutes of
2000, that also includes topics on pesticides, immigration, and
agriculture's role in the economy; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes March 31, 2011,
as the anniversary of the birth of César Chávez, and calls upon all
Californians to participate in appropriate observances to remember
César Chávez as a symbol of hope and justice to all persons; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
