[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5127-H5129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CESAR CHAVEZ POST OFFICE
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 925) to redesignate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1859 South Ashland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois,
as the ``Cesar Chavez Post Office''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 925
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CESAR CHAVEZ POST OFFICE.
(a) Redesignation.--The facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1859 South Ashland Avenue in
Chicago, Illinois, and known as the Pilsen Post Office, shall
be known and designated as the ``Cesar Chavez Post Office''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be
a reference to the Cesar Chavez Post Office.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on H.R. 925.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 925, introduced by my distinguished colleague, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), redesignates this postal
facility in Chicago, Illinois, as the Cesar Chavez Post Office
Building.
This legislation deals with an American civil rights advocate. Cesar
Chavez grew up as a migrant agrarian worker after being born in Arizona
in 1927. As a young adult he became involved in the Community Service
Organization and ultimately rose to the position of general director in
1958.
Four years later, Cesar Chavez left the CSO to join with some of his
fellow wine grape pickers and form the National Farm Workers
Association. This organization was active in acquiring service
contracts from major growers in California. His ambition led him to
merge the National Farm Workers Association with the Agricultural
Workers Organizing Committee of the giant labor umbrella organization,
the AFL-CIO. The upshot group became called the United Farm Workers
Organizing Committee.
In 1972, Cesar Chavez's organization became a member union of the
AFL-CIO and he was named president. In this role, Cesar Chavez's
influence only expanded, and he coordinated activities on agricultural
issues.
Cesar Chavez will be remembered for his stands in support of workers,
in support of their wages and their rights, and the difference he has
made in the lives of all current and future workers. His advocacy has
led to countless agreements between business and labor on a variety of
important issues.
So my colleague from Illinois wants to name this post office for
labor leader Cesar Chavez, and, therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge all
Members to support passage of H.R. 925.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of
H.R. 925, legislation redesignating a postal facility after Cesar
Chavez, a fighter for dignity, human rights, and livable working
conditions.
H.R. 925, which was introduced by my good friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), on February 26, 2003, has met
the committee policy and has been cosponsored by the entire Illinois
delegation.
Cesar Estrada Chavez, the founding leader of the first successful
farm workers union, was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona, the
second of six children. Cesar began working as a migrant worker when
the family lost their land during the Depression. When he was 11 years
old, the Chavez family followed the crop picking and moved to
California, living in the trucks they drove.
Although working in the fields and attending school was difficult, if
not impossible, Cesar managed to do both and graduated from the eighth
grade. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Navy. After his tour of duty,
he began teaching Mexican farm workers to read and write so that they
could take the test and become American citizens. This activity marked
the beginning of Cesar's efforts to improve working conditions for
migrant workers.
Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association in Delano,
California, and in 1965 joined an AFL-CIO union strike against Delano
Table and Wine Growers. This successful 5-year strike led supporters to
the United Farm Workers, a national group of unions, churches,
students, minorities and others. It became affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Cesar continued organizing workers, strike after strike. And he
produced results. Farm workers gained collective bargaining rights and
under union contracts enjoyed higher pay, health care and pension
benefits.
In 1984, Cesar called for another grape boycott, to protest the
pesticide poisoning of grape workers and their farmers.
Cesar Chavez passed away at the age of 66 on April 12, 1993. Before
he died, he received the Aztec Eagle, Mexico's highest award given to
people of Mexican heritage who have made major contributions outside of
Mexico. On August 8, 1994, President William Clinton posthumously
awarded Mr. Chavez the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest
civilian honor in America.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the legacy
[[Page H5128]]
of Cesar Estrada Chavez, and urge swift passage of this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), the sponsor of this
legislation.
Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding me
time, and I thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for
her work on the consideration of this bill today. I would like to also
thank all of the staff members who worked tirelessly in making this
possible, and specifically I would like to thank my good friend
Danielle Simonetta and Michael Layman from the majority side for all of
the work they have done in making this bill. And I say to Danielle
specifically that my daughter sends her good wishes. She is doing
better, and she is real excited about Cesar Chavez and the opportunity
for the action that we can afford his life here today.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate today the life and legacy of Cesar
Chavez and to recognize his passion for empowering workers and for
defending the rights of the disadvantaged.
The legislation we are considering today, H.R. 925, would designate a
United States Postal Service facility at 1859 South Ashland Avenue in
my district as the Cesar Chavez Post Office. The facility would serve
as a permanent tribute and a lasting reminder of the selflessness and
self-sacrifice that embodied Chavez's life and work.
Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time a legislative body has paused
to honor Cesar Chavez, and it is my hope it will not be the last. The
more buildings, the more streets, the more stamps and the more parks
that are designated, the more we can keep Cesar Chavez's principles,
his passion and devotion alive, and the more we will be able to
encourage others to continue the unfinished business that Cesar Chavez
left behind, to take up his fight and his causes and to make similar
sacrifices in the name of justice and dignity.
Throughout history, there have been few individuals that have done
more, that have fought harder or sacrificed as much to ensure dignity
and decency for all workers than Cesar Chavez. The late Senator Robert
F. Kennedy called him one of the heroic figures of our time.
Cesar Chavez remains a champion to working people around the world
and an inspiration to generations of Latinos, both here in this country
and abroad, and his accomplishments are an enduring symbol and a
shining example of what one man can achieve in the fight for fairness.
Cesar Chavez stood up to the biggest, the most well-financed and the
strongest corporate growers. He fought for farm workers who spent
countless hours doing our Nation's most arduous and strenuous work.
{time} 1500
He defended men and women crippled by despair and deplorable working
conditions, so that they too could have a say in the fight for
reasonable and respectable wages. Chavez fought for the most basic and
the most fundamental and the most essential rights for workers. He
fought so that growers would not spray pesticides while workers were in
the fields. He fought so that they could have a clean water system and
decent housing. And his actions and hard work were vital in achieving
better pay for migrant farmers, to banning child labor abuses, and to
mitigating the proliferation of sexual harassment of women workers.
Cesar Chavez's courage and his character helped strengthen the farm
workers movement, and his principles of nonviolence continue to play an
important role in the quest for social justice and human rights and for
a world without prejudice or injustice.
Mr. Speaker, for everyone who has ever fought for fairness, Chavez is
a model and a true mentor. Because he refused to let bigotry and bias
go unchallenged, workers are better protected and represented today.
Because he refused to respond to discrimination and intolerance with
silence, we live in a better and more inclusive America.
According to Chavez, ``The truest act of courage, the strongest act
of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally
nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others.''
At the time those eloquent words were articulated, Chavez was too
weak to speak them himself. He was fasting in protest of violence
against workers, and his speech had to be read by someone else.
Throughout his life, Chavez never relented, he never backed down, and
he never wavered from his commitment to nonviolence. When he passed
away in 1993, more than 50,000 people attended his funeral to pay
homage and their respects to a man who fought so fearlessly, so
tirelessly for those not always heard or even seen in our society.
A reporter wrote, ``During the vigil at the open casket on the day
before the funeral, an old man lifted a child up to show him the small,
gray-haired man who laid inside. `I am going to tell you about this man
some day, he said.' ''
The legislation we are discussing today would ensure that countless
others remember to tell their children about this man, about his life,
his lessons, and his legacy. It will also help educate tomorrow's
leaders about the characteristics that they should appreciate, about
the achievements that they celebrate, and about the types of
individuals that they should emulate.
Mr. Speaker, in the year since his passing, Chavez has been awarded
many of our Nation's highest honors, including the 1994 Medal of
Freedom. And the passage of this legislation, I believe, would serve as
another important and lasting testament to the outstanding work of
Cesar Chavez.
At the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, Chavez said, ``The
consciousness and pride that were raised by our union are alive and
thriving inside millions of young Hispanics who will never work on a
farm.'' And we must work to keep that consciousness and pride alive in
future generations. We must work to keep the consciousness and pride
alive as we advocate for a new generation of immigrant workers.
Every time someone in my community drops off a letter, goes to buy a
stamp, or passes by the post office, they will be able to remember
Cesar Chavez's life, remember his accomplishments, appreciate his
vision and, ideally, summon the strength to embody his teaching in
their daily activities. It will also serve as a focal point in a
vibrant and growing Pilsen community and as a reminder of the
challenges we face today.
Mr. Speaker, Cesar Chavez gave workers everywhere a reason to believe
and a reason to dream. He inspired them, with his desire and
discipline, to stand together and to do better and to reach farther.
And in doing so, he gave so many the courage and the strength to fight
for equity and equality.
That is why I urge the passage of this important legislation.
In ending, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friends again, the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and my dear friend, the
gentleman from Chicago, Illinois (Mr. Davis), who I know when we
finally get this legislation approved will be standing with me in
inaugurating this wonderful new post office for Cesar Chavez.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe we have any
additional requests for time, but I yield myself such time as I may
consume to note that I was pleased to have the opportunity to be in the
company of Caesar Chavez on several occasions, at rallies,
demonstrations, marches, and on picket lines, even in Chicago where
there were no farms. It is an excellent way of remembering the great
contributions that he has made.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. Again, I
want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), my good
friend, for introducing this measure, and I urge all Members to support
the adoption of this resolution.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 925, a
bill to designate a U.S. Post Office in Chicago, IL the ``Cesar Chavez
Post Office.'' I can think of no one more deserving of such an honor
than the great civil rights leader, Cesar Chavez. I want to commend my
colleague, Representative Gutierrez, for his leadership in bringing
this legislation before the House and I am proud to join him as an
original cosponsor.
Cesar Chavez was an organizer, an activist, a protestor, a farm
worker, a peace-lover, a father, and a son. Raised in a family of farm
workers forced to migrate throughout the Southwest, Chavez was led by
his compassion, his ability to inspire others to action, and
[[Page H5129]]
his deep sense of fairness and equality to organize and establish what
is today the United Farmworkers of America. Because of his efforts,
many farm workers today enjoy higher pay, family health coverage,
pension benefits, and other contract protections. While we still have a
long way to go in giving farm workers the fair pay and healthy work
conditions they deserve, Cesar Chavez laid the foundation toward
accomplishing those important goals.
Cesar Chavez understood what it took to create a movement and he
dedicated every part of his life to setting an example and leading the
way. As a child and young man, he experienced firsthand the harsh
working conditions of farm workers--the long hours, poverty wages,
harassment, and abuse--as well as the limited access to education and
health care. Understanding and addressing the roots of the problem,
Chavez was able to make a lasting and significant impact. He conducted
voter registration drives and campaigns against racial and economic
discrimination. He led boycotts and pickets and hunger strikes. His
nonviolent methods echoed those of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma
Gandhi. He showed us all how critical it is to organize people, to
unify them for a cause, and to help them believe in themselves and
their ability to make a difference.
Cesar Chavez continues to be an example for us today. He taught us
that ``Si se puede,'' or ``Yes we can.'' We can--and we must--help
those with no voice, help those who are discriminated against, help
those who are taken advantage of, and help those who live in poverty
and are struggling to survive. If Cesar Chavez were alive today, I am
sure he would still be leading the fight for fairness and equality for
workers and their families. We must not let his legacy die; we must not
let his great strides forward become giant steps backward. We must
continue to work for what is right. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on
H.R. 925.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity
with my colleagues to honor the enduring legacy of Mr. Cesar Estrada
Chavez.
Mr. Chavez was born of humble beginnings in 1933 near Yuma, Arizona.
Early in life, Mr. Chavez was forced to recognize the harsh realities
of racism that all too often plagued communities of color. After his
family's home and land were taken from them, Mr. Chavez knew first hand
what it meant to be the victim of gross injustice. Yet despite this and
similar experiences of discrimination, Mr. Chavez was not deterred. He
often said that, ``the love for justice that is in us is not only the
best part of our being but also the most true to our nature.''
In 1945, Mr. Chavez joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Western
Pacific during the end of WWII. After completing his military service,
Mr. Chavez returned to his roots, working and laboring in the fields.
By day Mr. Chavez picked apricots in an orchard outside of San Jose; by
night he was actively involved in galvanizing voter registration
drives. In 1952, Mr. Chavez was a full time organizer with the Chicago-
based Community Service Organization (CSO). Not only did he coordinate
voter registration drives, but he battled racial and economic
discrimination against Chicano residents and organized new CSO chapters
across California and Arizona as well.
In 1962, Mr. Chavez moved his wife and eight young children to
California where he founded the National Farm Workers Association
(NFWA). Cesar Chavez founded and led the first successful farm workers'
union in U.S. history. In 1968, Mr. Chavez conducted a 25-day fast to
reaffirm the United Farm Workers commitment to nonviolence. The late
Senator Robert F. Kennedy called Cesar Chavez ``one of the heroic
figures of our time'', and actually flew to be with Mr. Chavez when he
ended his fast.
In 1991, Mr. Chavez received the Aguila Azteca (The Aztec Eagle),
Mexico's highest award presented to people of Mexican heritage who have
made significant contributions outside of Mexico. Mr. Cesar Chavez
passed away on April 23, 1993, at the age of 66. At the time of his
death he was the president of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-
CIO. On August 8, 1994 Cesar became the second Mexican American to
receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor
in the United States. The award was presented posthumously by then
president, Bill Clinton.
Given the immense and innumerable contributions that Mr. Cesar Chavez
has made to our society in advocating for the rights and causes of the
working poor, I hope that my colleagues will join me in voting
affirmatively that the U.S. Postal Service Facility located at 1859
Southland Avenue in Chicago, Illinois be designated at the ``Cesar
Chavez Post Office''.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duncan). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 925.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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