DATE:
March 24, 2026
29
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
RENAMING C?SAR CH?VEZ DAY AS FARMWORKERS DAY AT THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RENAME C?SAR CH?VEZ DAY AS FARMWORKERS DAY, AND A-72 WAIVER (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
In the mid twentieth century, agricultural laborers organized in the face of entrenched exploitation to demand fair wages, safe working conditions, and the basic dignity owed to every worker. Their efforts transformed labor standards and challenged systems that had long denied visibility and power to the workers who sustained the agricultural economy. This movement reshaped expectations of fairness and helped establish that labor rights are inseparable from human rights.
Across California and neighboring regions, farmworkers built a movement grounded in courage, sacrifice, and collective action. They organized strikes, led boycotts, and built alliances despite facing retaliation and systemic discrimination. Their persistence forced a national reckoning and secured protections that continue to shape labor standards today. The legacy of this movement endures as a model for how collective action can drive lasting change.
History must remember that this movement was never the work of a single individual. It was built by a diverse coalition of Mexican, Filipino, and other immigrant communities united in common cause. Women were not only essential as organizers and strategists but were often the backbone of the movement including leading campaigns, shaping strategy, and sustaining the work in the face of both external opposition and internal inequities that too often minimized their contributions. Additionally, Filipino farmworkers played a central role in the early organizing that sparked broader action. These contributions have too often gone unrecognized. An honest account of this history requires recognizing that collective st...
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