Full Text of HR0266 101st General Assembly
HR0266 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0266 | | LRB101 11924 MST 59002 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Born to immigrant parents, Cesar Chavez | 3 | | encountered wretched migrant camps, corrupt
labor contractors, | 4 | | meager wages for backbreaking work, and bitter racism; he later | 5 | | helped change those conditions for millions of workers across | 6 | | the U.S.; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez was introduced to labor organizing in | 8 | | 1952 when an activist priest recruited
him to be an organizer | 9 | | for the Community Service Organization; he soon took on the | 10 | | position as national
director of the organization but resigned | 11 | | in 1962 to devote his time to organizing a union for farm
| 12 | | workers; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Angered by his childhood that consisted of picking | 14 | | cotton and grapes and enduring poverty and
prejudice, Cesar | 15 | | Chavez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in | 16 | | 1962; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez's leadership and nonviolent tactics | 18 | | included the Delano, California grape strike, which began in | 19 | | September 1965; his fasts and the 340-mile march from Delano to
| 20 | | Sacramento focused national attention on the problems of farm | 21 | | workers; the marchers wanted California to pass laws that would | 22 | | permit farm workers to
organize into a union and allow |
| | | HR0266 | - 2 - | LRB101 11924 MST 59002 r |
|
| 1 | | collective bargaining agreements; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The first union contracts required rest periods, | 3 | | clean drinking water, hand washing stations,
and protective | 4 | | clothing to prevent pesticide exposure; the contracts were | 5 | | signed in 1966 but were followed
by more years of conflict; in | 6 | | 1968, Cesar Chavez began a fast that lasted 25 days to protest | 7 | | the increasing
advocacy of violence within the union; on July | 8 | | 29, 1970, 26 Delano-area growers formally signed contracts | 9 | | recognizing the United Farm Workers, bringing peace to the | 10 | | vineyard; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, On August 8 1994, Cesar Chavez's family received a | 12 | | Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in
| 13 | | his honor; President Clinton recognized him for facing | 14 | | formidable and often violent oppositions with dignity and
| 15 | | nonviolence; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez devoted his life to making a change | 17 | | for the working class; he fought for equal pay and
better | 18 | | working conditions; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we declare March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020 as "Cesar Chavez | 22 | | Day in
Illinois" in order to commemorate his selfless fight to |
| | | HR0266 | - 3 - | LRB101 11924 MST 59002 r |
|
| 1 | | ensure the dignity of workers and their ability to
unionize and | 2 | | collectively bargain in the United States.
|
|