Nevada holiday proposed for César Chávez

Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen has introduced legislation making the birth date of labor leader César Chávez a state holiday in Nevada.

The measure, which has 18 cosponsors, calls Chávez “a civil rights activist committed to the principles of social justice and respect for human dignity … a labor leader who organized farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, reasonable wages and a prohibition on child labor.”

Chávez, whose birth date is March 31, walked Clark County picket lines with union workers and appeared at the Reno Musicians Union Hall to promote a grape boycott. That day, July 15, 1986, was declared César Chávez Day by the city of Reno.