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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, César Chávez was born to immigrant parents on
3March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona; in the late 1930s,
4his family lost their farm and became migrant workers in
5California; he quit school after the 8th grade in order to help
6support his family by working in the fields full time; and
 
7    WHEREAS, From a young age, César Chávez encountered
8wretched migrant camps, corrupt labor contractors, meager
9wages for backbreaking work, and bitter racism; he later
10helped improve those conditions for millions of workers across
11the U.S.; and
 
12    WHEREAS, César Chávez was introduced to labor organizing
13in 1952 when community organizer Fred Ross recruited him to
14the Community Service Organization; he soon took the position
15of national director for the organization but resigned in 1962
16to devote his time to organizing a union for farm workers; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Driven to improve the working conditions he
18experienced as a child, César Chávez co-founded the National
19Farm Workers Association in 1962, which would later become the
20United Farm Workers of America (UFW); and
 
21    WHEREAS, César Chávez's leadership and nonviolent tactics

 

 

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1were utilized during the Delano, California grape strike,
2which began in September 1965; his fasts and the 340-mile
3march from Delano to Sacramento focused national attention on
4the problems of farm workers; the marchers wanted California
5to pass laws that would permit farm workers to organize into a
6union and allow collective bargaining agreements; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The first union contracts required rest periods,
8clean drinking water, hand washing stations, and protective
9clothing to prevent pesticide exposure; the contracts were
10signed in 1966 but were followed by more years of conflict; in
111968, César Chávez began a fast that lasted 25 days to protest
12the increasing advocacy of violence within the union; on July
1329, 1970, 26 Delano-area growers formally signed contracts
14recognizing the UFW, bringing peace to the vineyard; and
 
15    WHEREAS, After a hard-fought battle with the California
16state government and various growers, the United Farm Workers
17of America and César Chávez managed to pass the landmark
18Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which guaranteed
19California farm workers the right to organize and bargain with
20their employers; and
 
21    WHEREAS, César Chávez passed away in his sleep on April
2223, 1993 after devoting his life to making a change for the
23working class by fighting for equal pay and better working

 

 

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1conditions; and
 
2    WHEREAS, On August 8 1994, César Chávez posthumously
3received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill
4Clinton in recognition of the formidable and often violent
5oppositions he faced with dignity and nonviolence; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Today, the United Farm Workers of America
7continues its vigilant protection of its many union members;
8the UFW remains strong, a fact that would certainly make César
9Chávez proud; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 31,
122022 as "César Estrada Chávez Day" in the State of Illinois in
13order to commemorate his selfless fight to ensure the dignity
14of workers and their ability to unionize and collectively
15bargain in the United States; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of César Chávez as a symbol of our
18great esteem and respect.