Cesar Chavez Day, March 31st.
Fred Ross Jr., now an organizer for IBEW Local 1245, Cesar Chavez , Father Jim Conroy and UFW general counsel Jerry Cohen at a large nighttime rally on the Oregon capitol steps to pressure Republican Gov. Tom McCall to veto an anti-farmworker bill in the 1970s. (He did.)
The annual day of recognition for the legendary organizer of the United Farm Workers was first proclaimed in 2011 by President Barack Obama, who called upon all Americans to use the occasion “to honor Cesar Chavez’s enduring legacy.”
Fred Ross Sr. was a mentor to Chavez and to UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, right.s enduring legacy.”
Chavez became a household name in the 1960s when many students and families joined a national boycott of table grapes in an effort to bring growers to the bargaining table. Arturo Rodriguez, Chavez’s son-in-law and successor as leader of the United Farm Workers, said the greatest monument to Chavez “is in the courage to work for change he inspired.”
“Cesar said if the movement did not survive his passing, then his work would be in vain. Cesar would be proud of all the men, women and youth who have stepped up to help the UFW and the farm worker movement carry on his dream,” Rodriguez said.
A major motion picture about Chavez by director/producer Diego Luna is scheduled for release later this year. A full-length feature documentary about Cesar will also be airing soon on PBS, according to Rodriguez.
Chavez’s movement to organize farm workers is rooted in early training he received from community organizer Fred Ross Sr. IBEW Local 1245 is assisting current efforts to persuade President Obama to award Fred Ross Sr. the Medal of Freedom.