HR673 - Commemorating the 98th anniversary of the birth of Cesar Chavez on March 31, 2025.

      H.R. No. 673       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, Americans across the country will pause on March 31,   2025, 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 89th Texas   Legislature hereby honor the life of Cesar Chavez and join the   citizens of the Lone Star State in commemorating the 98th   anniversary of his birth on March 31, 2025.     Romero     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 673 was adopted by the House on April   17, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 133, Nays 7, 2 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House