[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19797-19798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07088]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 64 / Tuesday, April 4, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 19797]]

                Proclamation 10537 of March 30, 2023

                
C[eacute]sar Ch[aacute]vez Day, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Today, we honor C[eacute]sar E. Ch[aacute]vez by 
                carrying on the cause--``La Causa''--to which he 
                dedicated his life: championing the dignity and rights 
                of every worker, using nonviolence to fight for 
                justice, and standing with organized labor to build an 
                economy that rewards work and not just wealth.

                C[eacute]sar E. Ch[aacute]vez came of age picking 
                produce and cotton in the fields of California. He 
                labored in intense heat, all too familiar with the 
                harms of poisonous pesticides. And he learned early on 
                about the power of organizing for basic dignity and 
                respect through his work with Fred Ross and the 
                Community Service Organization. Working alongside 
                trailblazing labor activist Dolores Huerta and inspired 
                by heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma 
                Gandhi, he founded the United Farm Workers of America 
                in 1962. Over the following three decades, 
                Ch[aacute]vez marched, fasted, and boycotted--
                campaigning for collective bargaining rights, a minimum 
                wage, unemployment insurance, and better health and 
                safety standards for his fellow workers. His courage 
                opened America's eyes to injustice and ushered in a new 
                age of opportunity for farm workers and the working 
                class.

                On what would be his 96th birthday, Ch[aacute]vez's 
                life and legacy as a leader of the labor and civil 
                rights movements continue to guide our efforts to grow 
                our economy from the bottom up and the middle out--
                fighting every day for America's working class. My 
                Administration is creating good-paying jobs, protecting 
                the retirement savings of millions of union workers, 
                pushing to ban unfair non-compete agreements, and 
                strengthening workers' rights to organize. Since I took 
                office, the Department of Labor has recovered $16.3 
                million in back pay and damages--compensation employers 
                owed to their employees--for nearly 20,000 farmworkers. 
                This hard-earned money can mean a worker's ability to 
                pay rent, buy groceries, or save for their children's 
                futures.

                The Department of Labor is also working on new rules to 
                protect workers from extreme heat in the workplace, and 
                it is conducting inspections in industries with high 
                incidences of heat-related illnesses or deaths. 
                Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has provided 
                hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance 
                to farmworkers and meatpacking workers for expenses 
                incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also 
                helped agricultural employers to implement more robust 
                health and safety standards.

                There is more work to do. That is why I continue to 
                call for paid sick leave for every worker in America; 
                for stronger organizing and collective bargaining 
                rights; and for better conditions for people who work 
                on farms, on ranches, and across the food and 
                agricultural industry. I encourage the Congress to pass 
                the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. I also 
                encourage the Congress to pass the Farm Workforce 
                Modernization Act to create a pathway to citizenship 
                for farmworkers, who put food on our tables and sustain 
                our Nation.

                This C[eacute]sar Ch[aacute]vez Day, as we celebrate an 
                American hero, let us be united in our efforts to stand 
                up for the dignity and rights of all workers. I proudly 
                keep a bust of C[eacute]sar E. Ch[aacute]vez in the 
                Oval Office, which reminds me daily of my commitment to 
                the Latino community and to the American

[[Page 19798]]

                people. The First Lady has honored his legacy with the 
                Ch[aacute]vez family in Keene and Delano, California, 
                home of Ch[aacute]vez's movement. I want to ensure the 
                American Dream is within reach of all who live in our 
                Nation, not just because it is right for our economy, 
                but because it is the right thing to do for humanity. 
                In Ch[aacute]vez's own words, ``The love for justice 
                that is in us is not only the best part of our being, 
                but it is also the most true to our nature.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 
                2023, as C[eacute]sar Ch[aacute]vez Day. I call upon 
                all Americans to observe this day as a day of service 
                and learning, with appropriate service, community, and 
                education programs to honor C[eacute]sar E. 
                Ch[aacute]vez's enduring legacy.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-07088
Filed 4-3-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P