ADOPTED - MARCH 11, 2003

Agenda Item No. 6

Introduced by the County Services Committee of the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION DECLARING MARCH 31, 2003 AS "CESAR E. CHAVEZ DAY" IN INGHAM COUNTY

RESOLUTION #03-47

WHEREAS, the late Cesar E. Chavez developed and lived by a unique blend of values, philosophy and styles, including dedication to non-violence, volunteerism, public action, education of heart, solidarity/unity, respect for all cultures, religions and lifestyles, some of the same values his heroes Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi lived by; and

WHEREAS, born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, Cesar Chavez grew up in migrant labor camps among farm workers and spent his adult life educating people about the struggles of farm workers everywhere; and

WHEREAS, from 1952 until 1962 he worked for the Community Service Organization, a self-help group, then he began working to create a farm workers union which was chartered in 1966 by the American Federation of Labor and Congress on Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) as the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, with Chavez as its president; and

WHEREAS, in 1968, Chavez gained attention as leader of a nationwide boycott of California table grapes in a drive to achieve labor contracts, in 1970, contract agreements between the UFW and most major grape growers were reached and the lettuce boycott began; and

WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez organized the United Farm Workers of America union in 1973, and a new round of boycotts began when grape growers failed to renew contracts; and

WHEREAS, on April 23, 1990, Chavez signed the IMSS agreement with the Mexican government, allowing Mexican farm workers in the U.S. to provide medical benefits to their families in Mexico; and

WHEREAS, in 1992, Cesar Chavez and the Union organized large-scale walkouts in the Coachella Valley during the summer grape harvest, protesting a lack of drinking water and sanitary facilities, they won concessions from the grower allowing a workers' committee to watchdog the situation; and

WHEREAS, also in 1992, in the San Joaquin Valley, Chavez organized walkouts and protests; and in the Salinas Valley, under his leadership, more than ten thousand farm workers staged a protest march in support of better conditions in the fields; and

WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez made many trips to the Greater Lansing area to increase public awareness of the lives of migrant farm workers and to further civil and human rights; and

WHEREAS, on April 23, 1993, Cesar Chavez died of natural causes in San Luis, Arizona shortly before he was scheduled to appear in Lansing.

ADOPTED - MARCH 11, 2003

Agenda Item No. 6

RESOLUTION #03-047

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby honor the memory of Cesar E. Chavez, an extraordinary Mexican-American, Labor Leader and role model, and declare March 31, 2003 as "Cesar E. Chavez Day" in Ingham County.

COUNTY SERVICES: Yeas: Celentino, Holman, De Leon, Schor, Severino, Nevin

Nays: None Absent: None Approved 3/4/03