Full Text of HR0166 103rd General Assembly
HR0166 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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 | 6 | | on a farm near Yuma, Arizona that his grandfather homesteaded | 7 | | in the 1880s; after Cesar Chavez's father, Librado, was forced | 8 | | from his farm in 1937, the Chavez family became migrant | 9 | | workers in California, the beginning of Cesar's legendary | 10 | | destiny; he quit school after the 8th grade in 1942 in order to | 11 | | help support his family by working in the fields; 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, he was arrested in a segregated movie theater | 16 | | 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, he organized 22 CSO chapters across California |
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| 1 | | during the 1950s, leading to CSO becoming the most militant | 2 | | and effective Latino civil rights group of its day; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, On March 31, 1962, his 35th birthday, Cesar | 4 | | Chavez resigned from CSO, choosing instead to move his wife | 5 | | and eight small children to Delano, California and to dedicate | 6 | | himself fully to organizing farm workers; the first convention | 7 | | of Cesar's National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) convened | 8 | | in Fresno, California on September 30, 1962; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The 1960s presented a prime opportunity for Cesar | 10 | | Chavez and his new organization to advocate for the rights of | 11 | | migrant workers; having worked on building the membership of | 12 | | his infant union during the early 1960s, the NFWA, with | 13 | | 1,200-member families, voted on September 16, 1965 to join an | 14 | | ongoing strike against Delano-area grape growers started by | 15 | | the mostly Filipino American members of the Agricultural | 16 | | Workers Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (AWOC), beginning the | 17 | | famous five-year Delano Grape Strike; during March and April | 18 | | of 1966, he and a band of strikers embarked upon a 340-mile | 19 | | Peregrinacion (Pilgrimage) from Delano to the steps of the | 20 | | California state capitol in Sacramento to draw national | 21 | | attention to the suffering of farm workers; as a result of the | 22 | | march and a four-month boycott, Schenley Vineyards negotiated | 23 | | an agreement with NFWA, the first genuine union contract | 24 | | between a grower and farm workers' union in United States |
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| 1 | | history; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez's success with the NFWA continued | 3 | | throughout the late 1960s, with a successful boycott at the | 4 | | DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation and a strike at the Giumarra | 5 | | Vineyards Corporation; in 1966, the NFWA and the Filipino | 6 | | American AWOC merged to form the United Farm Workers, which | 7 | | affiliated with the AFL-CIO; in 1968, Cesar fasted for 25 days | 8 | | to rededicate his movement to nonviolence; United States | 9 | | Senator Robert F. Kennedy joined over 8,000 farm workers and | 10 | | supporters at a mass where Cesar broke his fast, calling the | 11 | | weakened farm labor leader "one of the heroic figures of our | 12 | | time"; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez's movement continued apace during | 14 | | the 1970s, with most California table grape growers signing | 15 | | UFW contracts by 1970; after Salinas Valley growers signed | 16 | | contracts with the Teamsters Union in the summer of 1970, he | 17 | | led a national boycott of lettuce, a decision that led to a | 18 | | jail sentence in Salinas, California from December 10 to 24 of | 19 | | 1970; still going strong, the UFW became chartered as an | 20 | | independent affiliate by the AFL-CIO in 1972, becoming the | 21 | | United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW); and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, After a hard-fought battle with the California | 23 | | state government and various growers, Cesar Chavez and the UFW |
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| 1 | | managed to pass the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act | 2 | | in June of 1975, which guaranteed California farm workers the | 3 | | right to organize and bargain with their employers; under his | 4 | | leadership, the United Farm Workers of America won hundreds of | 5 | | labor elections across the nation during 1975 and 1976; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The number of farm workers protected by UFW | 7 | | contracts grew to about 45,000 by the early 1980s; Republican | 8 | | George Deukmejian was elected California governor in 1982 with | 9 | | $1 million in grower campaign contributions; under Governor | 10 | | Deukmajian's leadership, the California Agricultural Labor | 11 | | Relations Board ceased enforcement of the Agricultural Labor | 12 | | Relations Act, forcing Cesar Chavez to declare a third grape | 13 | | boycott in 1984; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In 1986, 61-year old Cesar Chavez kicked off the | 15 | | "Wrath of Grapes" campaign to draw public attention to the | 16 | | pesticide poisoning of grape workers and their children; the | 17 | | campaign included a 36 day public fast in Delano, California, | 18 | | his last and longest-running; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In 1992, Cesar Chavez, working with UFW First | 20 | | Vice President Arturo Rodriguez, led vineyard walkouts in the | 21 | | Coachella and San Joaquin valleys, resulting in the first | 22 | | industry-wide pay hike in eight years for grape workers; this | 23 | | feat proved to be the last for this brave pioneer, who passed |
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| 1 | | away in his sleep on April 23, 1993 in the midst of defending | 2 | | the UFW against a multi-million dollar lawsuit brought against | 3 | | the union; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, On August 8, 1994, President Bill Clinton | 5 | | posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom, America's highest | 6 | | civilian honor, to Cesar Chavez in honor of his everlasting | 7 | | contributions to society; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Today, the UFW continues its vigilant protection | 9 | | of its many union members; the union remains strong, with | 10 | | undeniable strength in numerous states such as California, | 11 | | Florida, and Washington, a fact that would certainly make | 12 | | Cesar Chavez proud; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we honor the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez and his | 16 | | contributions to the downtrodden of our society; and be it | 17 | | further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Cesar Chavez as a symbol of our | 20 | | great esteem and respect.
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