H.R. No. 908

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Americans across the country will pause on March 31, 2023, Cesar Chavez Day, to pay tribute to the inspiring life and achievements of the founder and longtime leader of the United Farm Workers of America on the anniversary of his birth; and

WHEREAS, Born in 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, and raised in California, Cesar Estrada Chavez spent much of his youth as a migrant laborer; as a Latino and a farmworker, he learned firsthand about the indignities of second-class citizenship and the unhealthy working and living conditions endured by those who tended the fields; and

WHEREAS, After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1948, Cesar Chavez returned to California, and in 1948 he married Helen Fabela; four years later he became a community organizer for the Community Service Organization, a Latino civil rights group that focused most of its work in urban areas, and by the late 1950s he had become its national director; and

WHEREAS, When in 1962 the CSO declined to organize California farmworkers, Mr. Chavez and his colleague Dolores Huerta left the organization to found the National Farm Workers Association, a forerunner of the UFW; their fledgling union gained national prominence just three years later when it offered support to workers who were striking against California's grape growers; in addition to assuming leadership of the strike, Mr. Chavez launched a successful nationwide consumers' boycott of nonunion grapes; and

WHEREAS, By the end of the five-year-long strike, the UFW had organized all of the California table-grape industry and negotiated the first collective bargaining agreements between American farmworkers and corporations; in 1975 Mr. Chavez and the UFW succeeded in securing the passage of California's Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the first law in U.S. history granting farmworkers the right to unionize and bargain collectively; numerous other gains achieved under his leadership included the establishment of a farmworkers' medical plan, pension plan, and credit union, as well as the National Farm Workers Service Center, whose projects have included the development of affordable housing, health clinics, cooperatives, and a retirement home; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of his life, Cesar Chavez sought to advance La Causa, the movement, through nonviolent means--through strikes, pickets, and boycotts; on several occasions he also undertook lengthy fasts to draw public attention to the farmworkers' struggle; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Chavez continued to lead the UFW until his death on April 23, 1993; more than 50,000 people from throughout the nation gathered to mourn him at his funeral, indicating the far-reaching impact he had made on American society; and

WHEREAS, Since that time, numerous schools, streets, scholarships, monuments, buildings, and parks have been named in his memory, a number of U.S. cities have initiated annual celebrations in tribute to his life, and several states, including Texas, have declared his birthday, March 31, a state holiday; in 1994 Mr. Chavez was posthumously awarded the nation's highest honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and

WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez chose to devote his life to the pursuit of social and economic justice through nonviolent means, and his courage and steadfastness in this great work brought improved health, greater security, and hope for a brighter future to countless people; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas Legislature hereby honor the life of Cesar Chavez and join the citizens of the Lone Star State in commemorating the 96th anniversary of his birth on March 31, 2023.

Neave Criado

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 908 was adopted by the House on April 14, 2023, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House