March 27, 2003, Introduced by Senators THOMAS and GARCIA and referred to the Committee on Local, Urban and State Affairs.
A bill to designate March 31 of each year as Cesar Chavez
day in the state of Michigan.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes the fundamental
2 contribution that Cesar Chavez made to this nation by organizing
3 farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions,
4 reasonable wages, decent housing, and the outlawing of child
5 labor. Cesar Chavez began working in the fields of Arizona and
6 California at the age of 10. Profoundly influenced by these
7 humble beginnings, Chavez embraced the nonviolent principles of
8 Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to crusade
9 against racial and economic discrimination, coordinate voter
10 registration drives, and found the united farm workers of
11 America. In 1994, Chavez was posthumously awarded the
12 presidential medal of freedom, the highest honor given to
1 civilians by the United States government. In memory of this
2 great American, the legislature declares that March 31 of each
3 year shall be known as "Cesar Chavez Day".
4 (2) The legislature encourages individuals, governmental and
5 educational institutions, and community organizations to pause on
6 Cesar Chavez day and reflect upon the courage and sacrifice of a
7 man to whom Robert Kennedy once referred as "one of the heroic
8 figures of our time".