Parades, Plantings to Mark Debut of Chavez Holiday

The new state holiday honoring the late labor leader Cesar Chavez will debut Saturday with parades, prayers and tree plantings, but also with some confusion because it falls on a weekend and most Southern California cities are not following Sacramento’s lead.

The Legislature and Gov. Gray Davis last summer recognized Chavez’s March 31 birthday as a state holiday, the first of its kind in the country to honor a Latino or an organized labor figure. State offices such as the Department of Motor Vehicle that usually open on Saturdays will be closed. Other state employees who don’t work on weekends can take another day off this year.

But the movement among cities to adopt the Chavez holiday is still in its infancy, said Andres Irlando, executive director of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, the nonprofit group in Los Angeles that works to keep his legacy alive.

Among the few cities in the state to adopt it is Inglewood, which will give Friday off to its 900 employees. Other cities with similar plans include San Fernando, San Diego and Sacramento.

Inglewood Councilman Jose Fernandez said it’s especially appropriate for Inglewood because Chavez was the Grand Marshal of the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in his last year of life.

“We walked together,” Fernandez recalled. “We talked. . . . It really came at a personal level, the struggle he had gone through.”

Chavez, who died in 1993 at age 66, led Latino farm workers in their efforts for better wages and working conditions and began the grape boycott that gained international attention to their nonviolent struggle.

Fernandez pointed out that all four council members--three of them African Americans--present at the meeting voted in favor of the holiday. “I’m very proud of my colleagues,” he said.

San Fernando, which also will give its employees the day off on Friday, was the first city in the state to make Chavez’s birthday a city holiday. That began in 1994, seven years before the state holiday.

In Los Angeles, former Councilwoman Jackie Golderg and Councilman Mike Hernandez months ago reintroduced a motion that would make the Chavez birthday a paid holiday for city employees. The motion is still on the table and could be acted on later this year, possibly going into effect in 2002.

“We celebrate Presidents Day, Martin Luther King holiday,” said Councilman Alex Padilla, who supported the motion. “Cesar Chavez’ contributions are consistent with that.”

For years, Oxnard in Ventura County has celebrated Chavez’s birthday with marches, Mass at local churches and a pilgrimage to the spot on North Garfield Avenue where he once lived as a boy.

Some area officials and activists wanted more, following the state lead. But the City Council decided it was too late to observe the holiday this year with a paid day off. However, Oxnard will spend the $65,000 in what would have been overtime pay in programs to teach about Chavez’s life and legacy throughout the year.

Away from city halls, school and community celebrations will abound Friday and this weekend--including marches, lectures and community improvement projects.

Chavez’s widow, Helen Chavez, Robert Kennedy’s widow, Ethel Kennedy, and the governor will be making joint appearances Friday at events around Los Angeles, including a 2:30 p.m. youth program in Boyle Heights. The Proyecto Impacto youth event at 1401 1st St. will highlight the planting of 20 trees to honor the principles of nonviolence and personal sacrifice Chavez advocated.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, will celebrate Mass at St. Vincent’s Church, 621 W. Adams Blvd., in Los Angeles.

The Cesar Chavez Commemorative Committee of San Fernando will hold its annual celebration highlighted by a march that begins 11 a.m. Sunday from Brand Park to San Fernando Recreation Park.

Activities sponsored by Inglewood Unified School District will include a film festival and speeches by such dignitaries as Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Caroline Coleman Stadium.

To honor Chavez’s commitment to community involvement, Inglewood students will take trips in the days around the holiday to such places as senior citizen centers.

“It is all about the children sharing the needs of the community,” said Iraida Johns, an official with the Inglewood school district.

Along with other cities, Inglewood received state funds for such programs. The state law establishing the Chavez holiday provided $5 million each year as grants for celebrations and community improvement projects, said Irlando.

Public schools and courts are not included in the state holiday. But many schools are marking the holiday this week with lectures and events to honor Chavez.

One of the ironies of the holiday is that the farm workers Chavez fought for will probably not get any extra time off.

“I don’t think I am subject to that holiday,” said Cecil Martinez, an Oxnard strawberry farmer with 111 employees. “In this business, it would be hard to set aside a day and say I will pay for it. Berries are perishable.”

“Yes, it is ironic that farm workers don’t get the day off,” said Oxnard Mayor Manny Lopez, who knew Chavez when he lived in Oxnard. “But the holiday helps farm workers attain a certain status they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Cesar Hernandez of California Rural Legal Assistance said farmers can’t be required to give employees a day off.

“Farm workers don’t get off for a lot of holidays,” he said. “You can’t mandate it for every worker.”

Jessica Arciniega, an organizer for the Oxnard United Farm Workers union, said the holiday was what mattered.

“I think we were fortunate it was an officially recognized day,” she said. “I believe one day we will get the day off.”