This Friday, September 21, 2007, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, granddaughter of civil rights crusader Cesar L. Chavez, will join with local and state officials to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Chavez-led United Farm Workers (UFW) Grape Boycott. Quinn and Chavez Rodriguez will honor original Chicago members of the UFW Grape Boycott who joined Cesar L. Chavez in a grape strike and boycott that rallied millions of Americans and resulted in the first industry-wide labor contracts in the history of American agriculture. �Cesar Chavez is a genuine American hero who spent a lifetime improving the condition of farm workers and struggling for social justice for immigrants, the impoverished and workers everywhere,� Quinn said. �His legacy is one of non-violent activism and grassroots organization, and his accomplishments are still bettering the lives of working people today.� Chavez was a labor leader who dedicated his life to improving the wages and working conditions of farm workers. Founder of the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers Union, he led strikes and boycotts that focused public attention on farm workers� inhumane conditions and earned him international attention. In 1967, Chavez took his grape boycott to Chicago and across the nation, alerting church groups, students, minorities and consumers to the poverty and disenfranchisement of farm workers. In Chicago, UFW members led non-violent protests and formed picket lines, inspiring Illinois citizens to join the grape boycott. The union�s efforts encouraged the passage of the groundbreaking 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act to protect farm workers. Today, it remains the only law in the nation that protects the farm workers' right to unionize. Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago), Alderman George Cardenas (12th), and Javier Salas, host of �Un Nuevo Dia,� will join Quinn in honoring the UFW boycott members who earned the support of Illinois citizens 40 years ago. The local leaders will also raise awareness of the Cesar Chavez legacy of service, which lives on in the Cesar Chavez Serve and Learn Program. �Cesar Chavez once said: �a lasting organization is one in which people continue to build, develop and move when you are not there�, Quinn said. �Cesar Chavez would be proud that his legacy lives on through the Illinois students who are giving back to their communities through service learning.� During the month of March, students and teachers throughout Illinois perform a range of curriculum-based activities to celebrate Chavez�s life and work, including: murals, food drives, commemorative marches, anti-gang workshops, drama performances and biographical collages. This educational initiative teaches students about the importance of service to others through academic instruction and community service projects. Visit www.ServeAndLearn.org for more information. |