[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 31, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3448-S3450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO CESAR CHAVEZ
Mr. REID. Mr. President, today is the 77th birthday of someone whom I
admire greatly, Cesar Chavez. He was born March 31, 1927. I never had
the opportunity to meet Cesar Chavez. I came close a couple of times,
but I never had the opportunity to meet him.
He was a leader, a great father, a man of great moral character, and
a humanitarian. He was a man whose name is synonymous with a broad
social movement that accomplished substantive things. He was guided by
principles of nonviolence and respect for human labor. He dedicated his
life to helping those who had no voice. And that is an understatement.
Whether he was leading a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento or
staging one of his prolonged hunger strikes, Cesar Chavez worked
tirelessly to focus attention to the inhumane conditions endured by
migrant farm workers.
He gave life, dignity, and strength to the United Farm Worker
movement. He knew firsthand the plight of migrant farm workers. He went
to work in the fields and vineyards when he was only 10 years old,
which was fairly standard at the time. He was forced to leave school in
the eighth grade to help support his family. But even though he didn't
have a lot of book learning, so to speak, he was a brilliant man. In
1944, he served his country in the United States Navy.
Forty-two years ago, Mr. Chavez joined Dolores Huerta, whom I have
had the opportunity to meet. She is still an avid activist and gives
inspiration to people in the State of Nevada and throughout the
country. Forty-two years ago, Chavez and Huerta founded United Farm
Workers Association.
Cesar Chavez and the Farm Workers Union opened the eyes of the
American people. For the first time, many Americans began to learn
about the hard lives and inhumane treatment of the workers who helped
put food on the table.
Cesar Chavez was an integral figure in the birth of La Causa, as our
Nation's Latino civil rights movement is sometimes called. Organized
labor, religious groups, minority students, and many other people of
good will joined Chavez in his fight to secure the rights and improve
the lives of migrant farm workers.
Cesar Chavez is probably our Nation's most recognized Hispanic
American historical figure, but he did not help only Latinos but Irish,
Asian, Indian, German, Mexican. When it came to aiding farm workers,
Cesar Chavez drew no racial lines. He placed his life on the line many
times. He did it by protesting, by denying his body nourishment, in
order to nurture the cause he so well served.
In 1968, he staged a fast. For 25 days, he ate no food. In 1972, he
repeated this for 24 days. But, in 1988, he fasted for a remarkable 36
days. He embraced the philosophy of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. He sought to bring about deep-rooted change through nonviolent
means.
In those many difficult days migrant farm workers lived in makeshift
homes with no plumbing, heat, or running water. It was not uncommon for
them to be sent into a field or vineyard while the crop-dusting plane
was actually dropping pesticides. And, in most cases, little or no
attempt was made to educate the children of these farm workers.
Things have changed as a result of his work. Take, for example, the
onion fields of northern Nevada, Lyon County. Farm workers now have
very nice facilities. They have to meet certain standards. They watch
how many hours they work. They have rights they never had but for this
man, Cesar Chavez.
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We have a lot of work to do on improving the lives of people who
gather our food, but at least today they have dignity and hope. This is
because Cesar Chavez gave them that dignity and hope. He personally led
a very courageous life and, in my estimation, is a true American hero
and an inspiration. He believed:
The end of all education should surely be service to
others.
He held this belief in his heart, and he lived this belief in his
actions until his untimely death in 1993. I hope those of us in the
Senate will understand that courage and commitment that guided Cesar
Chavez's life and honor his legacy by looking out for those people with
no voice.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today would have been the 77th birthday
of one of our country's greatest leaders, Cesar Chavez. His famous
motto in life ``si se puede,'' ``yes we can'' is his legacy to all of
us, and we are a better nation because of his life-long struggle to
bring dignity and freedom for the working men and women and their
families he cared so much about and did so much to help.
Cesar Chavez made powerful contributions to our society and has
inspired countless individuals who continue his battle against
injustice. My brother Robert Kennedy came to know Cesar Chavez well,
and a special friendship grew. Bobby instinctively shared Cesar's
extraordinary commitment to migrant farm workers, and his dedication to
non-violent change, and he too was inspired by Cesar's passionate
conviction. My brother was the only public official who was there in
March of 1968, at the end of Cesar's 25-day fast for non-violence to
help the grape workers. He was deeply moved by that day and called
Cesar ``one of the most heroic figures of our time.''
Cesar is best known today for his leadership in founding the United
Farmworkers of America, the largest farm workers' union in U.S.
history. Under his 30 year leadership, it became the strongest and most
consistent voice for farm workers' rights. His determination and vision
led the fight for fair wages, decent medical coverage, reasonable
pension benefits and better living conditions for their workers. His
legacy guides us today as we continue the battle to enable today's farm
workers to live and work with respect and dignity.
In fact, the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security
Act we hope to enact in this Congress is based on the far-reaching
agreement between the UFW and the agriculture industry to treat
immigrant farm workers fairly. Large numbers of men and women employed
in agriculture are currently undocumented. Often they risk danger and
even death to cross our borders only to be exploited by unscrupulous
employers who pay inhuman wages under harsh and often dangerous job
conditions. Our bill gives these deserving farm workers and their
families the opportunity to earn legal status, and it gives
agricultural businesses a legal workforce. By passing this bill, we pay
tribute to Cesar and we win an important battle in ending injustices in
farm work across America.
The legacy of Cesar Chavez also reminds us of the important role of
education in helping children with the greatest need to have a better
future. We know we can do much more to guarantee equality of
opportunity, and fulfill the promise of a good education for millions
of children living in poverty, especially for the children of migrant
and seasonal farm workers.
Too often, schools attended by migrant families are substandard, and
college is an impossible dream. Migrant students are among the most
disadvantaged youth in the nation. Current estimates place their school
dropout rate between 50 and 60 percent.
Cesar Chavez put it best in his own words:
It is not enough to teach our young people to be successful
. . . so they can realize their ambitions, so they can earn
good livings, so they can accumulate the material things that
this society bestows. Those are worthwhile goals. But it is
not enough to progress as individuals while our friends and
neighbors are left behind.
Those words remind us of our commitment to provide a better future
for today's youth; especially those who live in poverty, work long
hours in the fields, and are in the greatest need. They remind us of
our commitment stated in law, but far from reality, to leave no child
behind. They remind us of our unmet responsibility to achieve equal
educational opportunity for all, invest in our nation's communities,
and make a difference in the lives of millions of children.
Cesar's famous ``Prayer for the Farm Worker's Struggle'' sums up the
qualities of strength, wisdom and compassion that are essential as we
carry on his mission:
Show me the suffering of the most miserable, so I will know
my people's plight. Free me to pray for others, for you are
in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life, so that I
can be free at last.
Give me honesty and patience, so that I can work with other
workers.
Bring forth song and celebration, so that the Spirit will
live among us.
Let the Spirit flourish and grow, so that we will never
tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they
have given us life. Help us love those who hate us, so we can
change the world.
Happy birthday, Cesar--may your vision continue to guide us now as we
seek a better world.
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, today we celebrate the life of one of
America's greatest civil rights and labor leaders, Cesar Chavez. The
effects of his work on behalf of farm workers and to improve civil
rights are still felt across America today, from Salinas to Selah.
Although Chavez is best remembered for his decades of work to advance
these causes, the principles that guided him are universal and
enduring.
Chavez's motto, ``si se puede'', it can be done, embodies the
entrepreneurial spirit that made America great, and continues to make
our Nation stronger every day. Although he labored to overcome
tremendous obstacles, he is remembered not just for his grit and
determination, but his optimism that those barriers could be
surmounted.
Just as importantly, Chavez set goals to better the conditions not
just of individuals, but of our society. As he once put it, ``We cannot
seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity
for our community. . . . Our ambitions must be broad enough to include
the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.''
The values and philosophy Chavez embraced are as important to the
challenges we face today--from educating our children, to improving
health care, to creating opportunity for all our workers--as they were
to the causes he championed decades ago. When we honor these
principles, Cesar Chavez's legacy lives on.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today we honor the life and legacy of
Cesar Chavez, a great champion of civil rights and workers' rights.
Cesar Chavez was one of our Nation's strongest advocates for social
justice. He believed that the men and women who bring us the food we
depend on deserve a safe work environment and a fair wage. He fought
for America's farmworkers--men and women who worked so hard to provide
a decent life for their families--and challenged all Americans to
recognize their plight.
On this day, 77 years ago, Chavez was born at the Yuma, AZ farm his
grandfather had homesteaded in the 1880's. Like many families during
the Great Depression, his family lost their farm and began years of
migrating from town to town throughout the southwest in search of
steady work.
Chavez began working at the age of ten. He attended school when he
could--thirty-seven different schools, in all--before abandoning his
education after the eighth grade to help his family.
In 1945, he joined the Navy, serving in the Pacific just after World
War II. Upon returning to the United States, he lived in several
different Southwestern communities before settling in East San Jose.
It was there--as he worked in the apricot orchards--that he decided
to devote his life to tackling the injustice that so many migrant
workers lived under.
In 1952, Chavez became a full-time organizer with the Community
Service Organization, a Mexican-American advocacy group. In this
position, he organized farmworkers in California and Arizona, worked to
stamp out racial discrimination, and built the influence of farmworkers
through voter registration drives.
His activism led him to establish the National Farm Workers
Association in
[[Page S3450]]
Delano, CA in 1962. The new organization eventually became the United
Farm Workers of America, the first union representing farmworkers in
the United States.
Under the leadership of Chavez, the United Farm Workers successfully
improved the once-dismal working conditions for hundreds of thousands
of farmworkers throughout the nation. These efforts brought safety
improvements, pay increases, benefits and job security to workers who
had been among the most exploited.
The union's efforts also brought attention to the health problems
facing farmworkers, including the exposure to harmful pesticides that
affect workers and their children.
An adherent to the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Chavez used nonviolent means to bring about these changes
including economic boycotts, marches, civil disobedience, and fasts.
Chavez once declared to his followers, `Nonviolence is our strength.'
This message still rings true as the official slogan for the United
Farm Workers Union.
A winner of the highest civilian honor our Nation can bestow--the
Presidential Medal of Freedom--which he received posthumously in 1994,
Chavez was a true American hero. He was a hero because he spoke up for
so many who could not be heard.
Chavez once commented, ``It's ironic that those who till the soil,
cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill
your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.''
His life and this day remind us that as a society we have a
responsibility to protect the rights of all Americans.
As Cesar Chavez often said, ``Si se puede!'' Yes, we can!
Mr. DODD. Today, on the 77th anniversary of his birth, people across
America will pay tribute to a remarkable man, Cesar Estrada Chavez.
I had the honor of meeting Cesar Chavez. No one was a more powerful
or more passionate advocate for the men, women, and children who work
on farms throughout this country.
It's easy for Americans to forget that the food they eat doesn't
magically appear on a supermarket shelf. Every bunch of grapes, every
box of cereal, every can of corn represents the labor for real human
beings--so many of whom come to this country in search of a better
life, but instead find low wages, poor housing, and substandard working
conditions.
Cesar Chavez didn't just know about this struggle. He and his family
lived it. He grew up moving from town to town and from school to school
while his father worked in the fields. He himself became a farm worker
as soon as he finished the eighth grade. Born out of his sweat and toil
was a fierce determination to give a voice to people like him and his
family who labored so hard and received so little in return.
Chavez became one of America's most well-known, beloved, and
effective labor leaders. As the founder and leader of United Farm
Workers of America, Chavez shed light on the shameful treatment of farm
workers in our country. He led boycotts and marches. He helped register
voters. He went on hunger strikes. And he united workers across America
with a simple, yet powerful, message: ``Si se puede''--``Yes we can.''
Ceasr Chavez represented farm workers. But the priorities he fought
for are America's priorities: Better pay and benefits for workers.
Better education for children. Expanded civil rights for minorities.
All working Americans today owe a debt of gratitude to this outstanding
individual.
Of course, Chavez's work is not done. There is still a great deal we
can do to help to create a better life for working Americans,
especially those who work on farms. One thing we can do right now is
pass the bipartisan AgJOBS bill, which I'm proud to consponsor. This
bill, sponsored by my colleagues Senator Craig and Senator Kennedy,
would give many hard-working nonimmigrant farm workers a chance to
obtain legal status. This bill is the right thing to for these workers.
And by increasing the number of legal farm workers, it's the smart
thing to do for our economy. This legislation has the support of
agricultural businesses, labor unions, as well as immigrant and civil
rights groups. It deserves to become law.
But there is so much more we can and should do to make America a land
where each and every person receives respect and opportunity. We can
extend a helping hand to the children of nonimmigrant workers--by
passing the DREAM Act to help those children get a college education.
We can give every child in this country a chance at success--by making
a real commitment to our public schools. We can ensure that a job in
America is truly a gateway to a better life--by raising the minimum
wage and making it a fair and living wage. And we can make access to
health care a right--not a privilege--for every man, woman, and child
in America.
By perpetuating his legacy, we will truly be honoring the memory of
Cesar Chavez. Let us continue his commitment to achieving basic rights
and dignity for all American workers. And let us use his vision as a
guide as we strive to build a better tomorrow for all Americans.
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