Senate backs full Chavez
holiday
By Jon Matthews
Bee Capitol Bureau
(Published Feb.
1, 2000)
Heralding the late labor leader as a speaker for the voiceless
and a champion of civil rights, the state Senate voted Monday to make Cesar
Chavez Day a full-fledged paid holiday for state workers and school employees
and a day off for the courts.
The bill to celebrate the March 31 birthday
of the United Farm Workers union founder passed 23-0, with all "yes" votes cast
by Democrats. Republican senators abstained from the vote, sitting silently at
their desks, or were absent from the Capitol chambers.
The measure, SB
984, now goes to the Assembly, where Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los
Angeles, promptly predicted it will "fly through." However, Democratic Gov. Gray
Davis has not taken a position on the measure, a spokesman said.
"Cesar
Chavez touched the lives of millions of people, people from all walks of life,"
said Sen. Richard Polanco, the Los Angeles Democrat who is author of the bill.
"Cesar was a voice for the voiceless. Cesar created hope for those who had lost
it, and he believed in the principle of non-violence."
Senate
Republicans, who have been openly wooing Latino voters and candidates, did not
engage in debate and did not express their objections to the bill on the floor.
Senate Republican leader Ross Johnson, when asked by a reporter why he abstained
on the vote, replied only, "I didn't care to vote for it."
But another
Republican who also didn't cast a vote, Sen. Charles Poochigian of Fresno, said
he was concerned about the projected multimillion-dollar cost of providing
another paid holiday for state workers.
"We've got 13 or more state paid
holidays now. Where does it end? There are many ways of recognizing people's
contributions," Poochigian said.
A Senate Republican staff analysis of
the bill argued that Chavez "is still a very controversial figure in California
history. . . . This is a very divisive issue."
Polanco suggested the
party's position was in error given its "rhetoric about reaching out to the
Latino community."
Under a 1994 bill signed by former Republican Gov.
Pete Wilson, the state already has a memorial day for Chavez.
The
voluntary law allows state workers to take the day off as a holiday in lieu of a
personal vacation day or as their "floating" annual holiday, if permitted under
their collective bargaining agreement. Wilson had vetoed a previous Chavez bill
because he said it would provide state workers a 14th paid holiday and be too
costly for the state.
Under the new Senate-passed bill, Cesar Chavez Day
could be celebrated on either the Monday or Friday after or preceding March 31.
Private businesses would not be required to follow suit.
As the UFW's
president in the 1960s, Chavez led a national grape boycott in an effort to
improve the working conditions of farm workers and, in the process, became a
symbol for Latino civil rights.
He died at age 66 on April 23, 1993, of
natural causes.
Polanco said the new bill would make Cesar Chavez Day a
"bona fide state holiday."
Polanco said he had not yet "had negotiations
or conversations with the governor, but I think that he'd be sensitive to our
proposal."
Los Angeles resident Evelina Alarcon, state coordinator for a
campaign to make the day a full-fledged holiday, called the Senate vote "a
tremendous victory."
"I can't tell you the passion that people feel about
this holiday, everywhere we have gone. And I am not just talking about Latinos,"
said Alarcon, who is the sister of state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-San
Fernando.
Evelina Alarcon said she is optimistic the bill will now pass
the Assembly and reach Davis' desk.
"We haven't heard from the governor
but we are hoping he will do the right thing," she said.
State workers
currently receive 12 state holidays plus a floating holiday that can be taken
for a birthday, the current Chavez holiday or other day.
Davis spokesman
Michael Bustamante said Davis "doesn't take positions on bills, certainly not
this early on."
However, Bustamante added that Davis knew Chavez, worked
with him when Davis was chief of staff to former Gov. Jerry Brown, and had
"tremendous respect" for the labor leader.
In the Senate, Democrats
Patrick Johnston of Stockton and Deborah Ortiz of Sacramento voted for the bill.
Republican Sens. Maurice Johannessen of Redding and Tim Leslie of Tahoe City did
not vote.
State holidays
Current holidays for California state
workers:
January: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.
Day
February: Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday
May:
Memorial Day
July: Independence Day
September: Labor
Day
October: Columbus Day
November: Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day
and the day after
December: Christmas Day State workers also receive one
personal holiday, which they may use for any purpose, including celebration of
Cesar Chavez Day or Native American Day.
Source: California Governor's
Office, state Department of Personnel Adminstration
Copyright: Sacramento Bee