Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cesar Chavez Day

California has established an official state holiday to honor Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez Day is intended to promote service to the community in honor of Chavez's life and work. This day will be celebrated on March 31st, in honor of Chavez's birthday, or the appropriate Monday or Friday nearest that date.

César Estrada Chávez  (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW).
A Mexican American, Chávez became the best known Latino civil rights activist, and was strongly promoted by the American labor movement eager to enroll Hispanic members. His public-relations approach to unionism and aggressive but nonviolent tactics made the farm workers' struggle a moral cause with nationwide support. By the late 1970s, his tactics had forced growers to recognize the UFW as the bargaining agent for 50,000 field workers in California and Florida. However, by the mid-1980s membership in the UFW had dwindled to around 15,000.

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