Full Text of HR0775 102nd General Assembly
HR0775 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to commend the work of farm | 4 | | workers' leader César Estrada Chávez; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, César Chávez was born to immigrant parents on | 6 | | March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona; in the late 1930s, | 7 | | his family lost their farm and became migrant workers in | 8 | | California; he quit school after the 8th grade in order to help | 9 | | support his family by working in the fields full time; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, From a young age, César Chávez encountered | 11 | | wretched migrant camps, corrupt labor contractors, meager | 12 | | wages for backbreaking work, and bitter racism; he later | 13 | | helped improve those conditions for millions of workers across | 14 | | the U.S.; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, César Chávez was introduced to labor organizing | 16 | | in 1952 when community organizer Fred Ross recruited him to | 17 | | the Community Service Organization; he soon took the position | 18 | | of national director for the organization but resigned in 1962 | 19 | | to devote his time to organizing a union for farm workers; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Driven to improve the working conditions he | 21 | | experienced as a child, César Chávez co-founded the National |
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| 1 | | Farm Workers Association in 1962, which would later become the | 2 | | United Farm Workers of America (UFW); and | 3 | | WHEREAS, César Chávez's leadership and nonviolent tactics | 4 | | were utilized during the Delano, California grape strike, | 5 | | which began in September 1965; his fasts and the 340-mile | 6 | | march from Delano to Sacramento focused national attention on | 7 | | the problems of farm workers; the marchers wanted California | 8 | | to pass laws that would permit farm workers to organize into a | 9 | | union and allow collective bargaining agreements; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The first union contracts required rest periods, | 11 | | clean drinking water, hand washing stations, and protective | 12 | | clothing to prevent pesticide exposure; the contracts were | 13 | | signed in 1966 but were followed by more years of conflict; in | 14 | | 1968, César Chávez began a fast that lasted 25 days to protest | 15 | | the increasing advocacy of violence within the union; on July | 16 | | 29, 1970, 26 Delano-area growers formally signed contracts | 17 | | recognizing the UFW, bringing peace to the vineyard; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, After a hard-fought battle with the California | 19 | | state government and various growers, the United Farm Workers | 20 | | of America and César Chávez managed to pass the landmark | 21 | | Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which guaranteed | 22 | | California farm workers the right to organize and bargain with | 23 | | their employers; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, César Chávez passed away in his sleep on April | 2 | | 23, 1933 after devoting his life to making a change for the | 3 | | working class by fighting for equal pay and better working | 4 | | conditions; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, On August 8 1994, César Chávez posthumously | 6 | | received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill | 7 | | Clinton in recognition of the formidable and often violent | 8 | | oppositions he faced with dignity and nonviolence; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Today, the United Farm Workers of America | 10 | | continues its vigilant protection of its many union members; | 11 | | the UFW remains strong, a fact that would certainly make César | 12 | | Chávez proud; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we commend the work of farm workers' leader César Estrada | 16 | | Chávez; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of César Chávez as a symbol of our | 19 | | great esteem and respect.
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