IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 271
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH31, 2025
Mr. C
ARBAJAL(for himself, Ms. RIVAS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr.
G
OMEZ, and Mr. GARCI´Aof Illinois) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
form
RESOLUTION
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada
Cha´vez.
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was born on March 31, 1927,
near Yuma, Arizona;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez spent his early years on a
family farm;
Whereas, at the age of 10, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the
thousands of migrant farmworkers laboring in fields and
vineyards throughout the Southwest after a bank fore-
closure resulted in the loss of the family farm;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, after attending more than
30 elementary and middle schools and achieving an
eighth grade education, left school to work full-time as a
farmworker to help support his family;
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•HRES 271 IH
Whereas, at the age of 17, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez entered the
United States Navy and served the United States with
distinction for 2 years;
Whereas, in 1948, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez returned from mili-
tary service to marry Helen Fabela, whom he had met
while working in the vineyards of central California;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez and Helen Fabela had 8 chil-
dren;
Whereas, as early as 1949, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was com-
mitted to organizing farmworkers to campaign for safe
and fair working conditions, reasonable wages, livable
housing, and the outlawing of child labor;
Whereas, in 1952, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the Commu-
nity Service Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights
group, and worked with the organization to coordinate
voter registration drives and conduct campaigns against
discrimination in east Los Angeles;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez served as the national direc-
tor of the Community Service Organization;
Whereas, in 1962, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez left the Community
Service Organization to found the National Farm Work-
ers Association, which eventually became the United
Farm Workers of America;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a strong believer in the
principles of nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez effectively used peaceful tac-
tics that included fasting for 25 days in 1968, 25 days
in 1972, and 36 days in 1988, to call attention to the
terrible working and living conditions of farmworkers in
the United States;
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•HRES 271 IH
Whereas, under the leadership of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, the
United Farm Workers of America organized thousands of
migrant farmworkers to fight for fair wages, health care
coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and respect;
Whereas his union’s efforts brought about the passage of the
landmark 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations
Act, which sought justice and guaranteed certain protec-
tions for farmworkers;
Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ce´sar
Estrada Cha´vez brought dignity and respect to the orga-
nized farmworkers and became an inspiration to and a
resource for individuals engaged in human rights strug-
gles throughout the world;
Whereas the influence of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez extends far
beyond agriculture and provides inspiration for those
working to better human rights, empower workers, and
advance the American Dream, which includes all inhab-
itants of the United States;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez died on April 23, 1993, at
the age of 66 in San Luis, Arizona, only miles from his
birthplace;
Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral serv-
ices of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez in Delano, California;
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was laid to rest at the head-
quarters of the United Farm Workers of America, known
as Nuestra Sen˜ora de La Paz, located in the Tehachapi
Mountains in Keene, California;
Whereas, since the death of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, schools,
parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities, as well
as awards and scholarships, have been named in his
honor;
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•HRES 271 IH
Whereas 10 States and dozens of communities across the
United States honor the life and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada
Cha´vez on March 31st of each year;
Whereas March 31 is recognized as an official State holiday
in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, and Wash-
ington, and there is growing support to designate the
birthday of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez as a National Day of
Service to memorialize his heroism;
Whereas, during his lifetime, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a re-
cipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Prize;
Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was
posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Free-
dom;
Whereas, on May 5, 2012, the Navy christened and launched
the dry cargo ship the USNS Cesar Chavez, in honor of
prominent civil rights activist Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, who
served in the Navy during World War II;
Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama au-
thorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Ce´sar
Estrada Cha´vez National Monument in Keene, Cali-
fornia;
Whereas President Barack Obama first proclaimed March 31,
2010, to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ and asked all people of
the United States to observe March 31 with service, com-
munity, and education programs to honor the enduring
legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez;
Whereas President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., most recently hon-
ored the life and service of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez by pro-
claiming March 31, 2024, to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ and
by asking all people of the United States to observe
March 31 with service, community, and education pro-
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•HRES 271 IH
grams to honor the enduring legacy of Ce´sar Estrada
Cha´vez; and
Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of
Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez to ensure equality, justice, and
dignity for all people of the United States: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
(1) recognizes the accomplishments and exam-2
ple of a great hero of the United States, Ce´sar 3
Estrada Cha´vez; 4
(2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ce´sar 5
Estrada Cha´vez; and 6
(3) encourages the people of the United States 7
to commemorate the legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez 8
and to always remember his great rallying cry: ‘‘≠Sı´ 9
se puede!’’, which is Spanish for ‘‘Yes, we can!’’. 10
Æ
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