Biden proclaims Cesar Chavez Day
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President Biden today proclaimed that Friday will be César Chávez Day.
“Today, we honor César E. Chávez by carrying on the cause — “La Causa” — to which he dedicated his life: championing the dignity and rights of every worker, using nonviolence to fight for justice, and standing with organized labor to build an economy that rewards work and not just wealth,” Biden said.
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In the proclamation, Biden said,
“On what would be his 96th birthday, Chávez’s life and legacy as a leader of the labor and civil rights movements continue to guide our efforts to grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out — fighting every day for America’s working class.
“My administration is creating good-paying jobs, protecting the retirement savings of millions of union workers, pushing to ban unfair non-compete agreements, and strengthening workers’ rights to organize. Since I took office, the Department of Labor has recovered $16.3 million in back pay and damages — compensation employers owed to their employees — for nearly 20,000 farmworkers. This hard-earned money can mean a worker’s ability to pay rent, buy groceries, or save for their children’s futures.
“The Department of Labor is also working on new rules to protect workers from extreme heat in the workplace, and it is conducting inspections in industries with high incidences of heat-related illnesses or deaths,” the proclamation said.
“Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance to farmworkers and meatpacking workers for expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also helped agricultural employers to implement more robust health and safety standards.
“There is more work to do. That is why I continue to call for paid sick leave for every worker in America; for stronger organizing and collective bargaining rights; and for better conditions for people who work on farms, on ranches, and across the food and agricultural industry.
“I encourage the Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. I also encourage the Congress to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to create a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers, who put food on our tables and sustain our nation.”
