IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 132 
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2013 
Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 
SERRANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. HINO-
JOSA, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN 
GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. 
HONDA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada 
Cha´vez. 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was born on March 31, 1927, 
near Yuma, Arizona; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez spent his early years on a 
family farm; 
Whereas, at the age of 10, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the 
thousands of migrant farm workers laboring in fields and 
vineyards throughout the Southwest after a bank fore-
closure resulted in the loss of the family farm; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, after attending more than 
30 elementary and middle schools and achieving an 
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•HRES 132 IH 
eighth grade education, left school to work full-time as a 
farm worker to help support his family; 
Whereas, at the age of 17, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez entered the 
United States Navy and served the United States with 
distinction for 2 years; 
Whereas, in 1948, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez returned from mili-
tary service to marry Helen Fabela, whom he had met 
while working in the vineyards of central California; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez and Helen Fabela had 8 chil-
dren; 
Whereas, as early as 1949, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was com-
mitted to organizing farm workers to campaign for safe 
and fair working conditions, reasonable wages, livable 
housing, and the outlawing of child labor; 
Whereas, in 1952, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the Commu-
nity Service Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights 
group, and worked with the organization to coordinate 
voter registration drives and conduct campaigns against 
discrimination in east Los Angeles; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez served as the national direc-
tor of the Community Service Organization; 
Whereas, in 1962, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez left the Community 
Service Organization to found the National Farm Work-
ers Association, which eventually became the United 
Farm Workers of America; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a strong believer in the 
principles of nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi 
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez effectively used peaceful tac-
tics that included fasting for 25 days in 1968, 25 days 
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•HRES 132 IH 
in 1972, and 38 days in 1988, to call attention to the 
terrible working and living conditions of farm workers in 
the United States; 
Whereas, under the leadership of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, the 
United Farm Workers of America organized thousands of 
migrant farm workers to fight for fair wages, health care 
coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and respect; 
Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ce´sar 
Estrada Cha´vez brought dignity and respect to the orga-
nized farm workers and became an inspiration to and a 
resource for individuals engaged in human rights strug-
gles throughout the world; 
Whereas the influence of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez extends far 
beyond agriculture and provides inspiration for those 
working to better human rights, empower workers, and 
advance the American Dream, which includes all inhab-
itants of the United States; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez died on April 23, 1993, at 
the age of 66 in San Luis, Arizona, only miles from his 
birthplace; 
Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral serv-
ices of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez in Delano, California; 
Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was laid to rest at the head-
quarters of the United Farm Workers of America, known 
as Nuestra Sen˜ora de La Paz, located in the Tehachapi 
Mountains in Keene, California; 
Whereas, since the death of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, schools, 
parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities, as well 
as awards and scholarships, have been named in his 
honor; 
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•HRES 132 IH 
Whereas 10 States and dozens of communities across the 
United States honor the life and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada 
Cha´vez on March 31st of each year; 
Whereas, during his lifetime, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a re-
cipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize; 
Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was 
posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Free-
dom; 
Whereas President Barack Obama honored the life of service 
of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez by proclaiming March 31, 2012, 
to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’; 
Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama au-
thorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Ce´sar 
Estrada Cha´vez National Monument in Keene, Cali-
fornia; and 
Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of 
Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez to ensure equality, justice, and 
dignity for all people of the United States: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the accomplishments and exam-
ple of a great hero of the United States, Ce´sar 
Estrada Cha´vez; 
(2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ce´sar 
Estrada Cha´vez; and 
(3) encourages the people of the United States 
to commemorate the legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez 
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