HR0775 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0775 LRB102 26977 MST 38195 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to commend the work of farm workers' leader César Estrada Chávez; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez was born to immigrant parents on March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona; in the late 1930s, his family lost their farm and became migrant workers in California; he quit school after the 8th grade in order to help support his family by working in the fields full time; and

WHEREAS, From a young age, César Chávez encountered wretched migrant camps, corrupt labor contractors, meager wages for backbreaking work, and bitter racism; he later helped improve those conditions for millions of workers across the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez was introduced to labor organizing in 1952 when community organizer Fred Ross recruited him to the Community Service Organization; he soon took the position of national director for the organization but resigned in 1962 to devote his time to organizing a union for farm workers; and

WHEREAS, Driven to improve the working conditions he experienced as a child, César Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which would later become the United Farm Workers of America (UFW); and

WHEREAS, César Chávez's leadership and nonviolent tactics were utilized during the Delano, California grape strike, which began in September 1965; his fasts and the 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento focused national attention on the problems of farm workers; the marchers wanted California to pass laws that would permit farm workers to organize into a union and allow collective bargaining agreements; and

WHEREAS, The first union contracts required rest periods, clean drinking water, hand washing stations, and protective clothing to prevent pesticide exposure; the contracts were signed in 1966 but were followed by more years of conflict; in 1968, César Chávez began a fast that lasted 25 days to protest the increasing advocacy of violence within the union; on July 29, 1970, 26 Delano-area growers formally signed contracts recognizing the UFW, bringing peace to the vineyard; and

WHEREAS, After a hard-fought battle with the California state government and various growers, the United Farm Workers of America and César Chávez managed to pass the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which guaranteed California farm workers the right to organize and bargain with their employers; and

WHEREAS, César Chávez passed away in his sleep on April 23, 1933 after devoting his life to making a change for the working class by fighting for equal pay and better working conditions; and

WHEREAS, On August 8 1994, César Chávez posthumously received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in recognition of the formidable and often violent oppositions he faced with dignity and nonviolence; and

WHEREAS, Today, the United Farm Workers of America continues its vigilant protection of its many union members; the UFW remains strong, a fact that would certainly make César Chávez proud; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend the work of farm workers' leader César Estrada Chávez; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of César Chávez as a symbol of our great esteem and respect.