Bill Text: IL HR0266 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020 as "Cesar Chavez Day in Illinois".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-16 - Resolution Adopted [HR0266 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0266-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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12 | workers; and
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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
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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
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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 |
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1 | collective bargaining agreements; and
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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
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11 | WHEREAS, On August 8 1994, Cesar Chavez's family received a | ||||||
12 | Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in
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13 | his honor; President Clinton recognized him for facing | ||||||
14 | formidable and often violent oppositions with dignity and
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15 | nonviolence; and
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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
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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 |
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1 | ensure the dignity of workers and their ability to
unionize and | ||||||
2 | collectively bargain in the United States.
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