Full Text of HR0911 97th General Assembly
HR0911 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0911 | | LRB097 20998 KXB 68283 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to honor the life and legacy of | 4 | | farm workers' leader Cesar Estrada Chavez; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 on | 6 | | a farm near Yuma, Arizona that his grandfather homesteaded in | 7 | | the 1880s; after Cesar Chavez's father, Librado, was forced | 8 | | from his farm in 1937, the Chavez family became migrant workers | 9 | | in California, the beginning of his legendary destiny; he quit | 10 | | school after the 8th grade in 1942 in order to help support his | 11 | | family by working in the fields full time; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, Cesar Chavez joined the United States | 13 | | Navy, where he was slated to serve in the western Pacific | 14 | | theatre during World War II; just before he was to be shipped | 15 | | to the Pacific, however, he was arrested in a segregated movie | 16 | | theater in Delano, California for sitting in the "whites only" | 17 | | section; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1952, Cesar Chavez was recruited into the | 19 | | Community Service Organization (CSO) by community organizer | 20 | | Fred Ross, who discovered the young farm worker laboring in | 21 | | apricot orchards outside San Jose, California; together with | 22 | | Mr. Ross, Cesar Chavez organized 22 CSO chapters across |
| | | HR0911 | - 2 - | LRB097 20998 KXB 68283 r |
|
| 1 | | California during the 1950s, leading to CSO becoming the most | 2 | | militant and effective Latino civil rights group of its day; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, On March 31, 1962, his 35th birthday, Cesar Chavez | 5 | | resigned from CSO, choosing instead to move his wife and eight | 6 | | small children to Delano, California and dedicate himself | 7 | | full-time to organizing farm workers; the first convention of | 8 | | Cesar's National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) convened in | 9 | | Fresno, California on September 30, 1962; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The 1960s presented a prime opportunity for Cesar | 11 | | Chavez and his new organization to advocate for the rights of | 12 | | migrant workers; having worked on building the membership of | 13 | | his infant union during the early 1960s, the NFWA, with | 14 | | 1,200-member families, voted on September 16, 1965 to join an | 15 | | ongoing strike against Delano-area grape growers begun by the | 16 | | mostly Filipino American members of the Agricultural Workers | 17 | | Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (AWOC), beginning the famous | 18 | | five-year Delano Grape Strike; during March and April of 1966, | 19 | | Cesar and a band of strikers embarked upon a 340-mile | 20 | | Peregrinacion (Pilgrimage) from Delano to the steps of the | 21 | | California state capitol in Sacramento to draw national | 22 | | attention to the suffering of farm workers; as a result of the | 23 | | march and a four-month boycott, Schenley Vineyards negotiated | 24 | | an agreement with NFWA, the first genuine union contract |
| | | HR0911 | - 3 - | LRB097 20998 KXB 68283 r |
|
| 1 | | between a grower and farm workers' union in United States | 2 | | history; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez's success with the NFWA continued | 4 | | throughout the late 1960s, with a successful boycott at the | 5 | | DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation and a strike at the Giumarra | 6 | | Vineyards Corporation; in 1966, the NFWA and the Filipino | 7 | | American AWOC merged to form the United Farm Workers, which | 8 | | affiliated with the AFL-CIO; in 1968, Cesar fasted for 25 days | 9 | | to rededicate his movement to nonviolence; United States | 10 | | Senator Robert F. Kennedy joined over 8,000 farm workers and | 11 | | supporters at a mass where Cesar broke his fast, calling the | 12 | | weakened farm labor leader "one of the heroic figures of our | 13 | | time"; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez's movement continued apace during | 15 | | the 1970s, with most California table grape growers signing UFW | 16 | | contracts by 1970; after Salinas Valley growers signed | 17 | | contracts with the Teamsters Union in the summer of 1970, Cesar | 18 | | led a national boycott of lettuce, a decision that led to a | 19 | | jail sentence in Salinas, California from December 10 to 24 of | 20 | | 1970; still going strong, the UFW became chartered as an | 21 | | independent affiliate by the AFL-CIO in 1972, becoming the | 22 | | United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW); and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, After a hard-fought battle with the California |
| | | HR0911 | - 4 - | LRB097 20998 KXB 68283 r |
|
| 1 | | state government and various growers, Cesar Chavez and the UFW | 2 | | managed to pass the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act, | 3 | | which guaranteed California farm workers the right to organize | 4 | | and bargain with their employers, in June of 1975; led by Cesar | 5 | | Chavez, the United Farm Workers of America won hundreds of | 6 | | labor elections across the nation during 1975 and 1976; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The number of farm workers protected by UFW | 8 | | contracts grew to about 45,000 by the early 1980s; Republican | 9 | | George Deukmejian was elected California governor in 1982 with | 10 | | $1 million in grower campaign contributions; under Governor | 11 | | Deukmajian's leadership, the California Agricultural Labor | 12 | | Relations Board ceased enforcement of the Agricultural Labor | 13 | | Relations Act, forcing Cesar Chavez to declare a third grape | 14 | | boycott in 1984; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1986, 61-year old Cesar Chavez kicked off the | 16 | | "Wrath of Grapes" campaign to draw public attention to the | 17 | | pesticide poisoning of grape workers and their children; the | 18 | | campaign included a 36 day public fast in Delano, California, | 19 | | his last and longest-running; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1992, Cesar Chavez, working with UFW First Vice | 21 | | President Arturo Rodriguez, led vineyard walkouts in the | 22 | | Coachella and San Joaquin valleys, resulting in the first | 23 | | industry-wide pay hike in eight years for grape workers; this |
| | | HR0911 | - 5 - | LRB097 20998 KXB 68283 r |
|
| 1 | | feat proved to be the last for this brave pioneer, who passed | 2 | | away in his sleep on April 23, 1993 in the midst of defending | 3 | | the UFW against a multi-million dollar lawsuit brought against | 4 | | the union; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, On August 8, 1994, President Bill Clinton | 6 | | posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom, America's highest | 7 | | civilian honor, to Cesar Chavez in honor of his everlasting | 8 | | contributions to society; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Today, the UFW continues its vigilant protection | 10 | | of its many union members; the union remains strong, with | 11 | | undeniable strength in numerous states such as California, | 12 | | Florida, and Washington, a fact that would certainly make Cesar | 13 | | proud; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we honor the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez and his | 17 | | contributions to the downtrodden of our society; and be it | 18 | | further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Cesar Chavez as a symbol of our | 21 | | great esteem and respect.
|
|