County supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to direct negotiators to approach the county’s bargaining units to establish Cesar Chavez Day as a county holiday.
Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated on March 31, Chavez’s birthday. It’s celebrated in recognition of Chavez’s contributions to the farm labor and civil rights movements. The holiday is currently provided to California state employees.
The only opposition came from Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who said the holiday would close out the public for a day.
“Every time we close, our work falls behind,” Botelho said. “I think there’s enough holidays out there already.”
Botelho said he wasn’t going to get into the contributions of Chavez and the labor movement, but that labor is already recognized on Labor Day.
“From the public standpoint, every day that the office is closed is an inconvenience to the people we’re serving… I think we could ill afford it,” Botelho said. “From the practical standpoint, I think just for that, I’m going to be opposed to this. I think we need to keep our offices open more.”
Chairman Robert Rivas disagreed with Botelho but said he appreciated his opinion.
“I brought this item forward because this is a very important topic for me,” Rivas said. “I believe that now more than ever we should honor our county’s history and give this day the recognition it deserves right here in San Benito County.”
Rivas said farm workers in the county fought to earn basic human rights in the 1960s and 1970s.
“With encouragement and leadership from Cesar Chavez, local farm workers worked together to win equality in the workplace,” Rivas said. “These are basic rights that we take for granted. Basic rights such as workplace breaks, mealtimes, vacation and sick pay, protection from pesticides, drinking water on the job and the end of the short-handled hoe that caused so many back injuries to farm workers.”
Rivas referred to the labor movement events in the county as rich history of which to be proud.
“This is about more than just Mr. Chavez,” Rivas said. “This is about honoring the history of the movement that built this county. It’s about honoring the many men and women who suffered injustices, but fought to make our society right here in San Benito County more equal.”
Supervisor Margie Barrios agreed with Rivas and said she was behind making Cesar Chavez Day a holiday for county employees.
“I was part of those inequalities,” Barrios said. “I worked in the field. … There were no bathrooms. We were young girls with no place to go and my mother had to struggle to figure out a way to keep us protected and safe. And I worked with the short hoe; that was tough.”
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said that while he thinks the holiday needs to be recognized, county employees need to give up another holiday.
“We have to do a trade-off,” De La Cruz said. “If we can do it, I’m 100 percent behind the idea of making Cesar Chavez Day a holiday for San Benito County.”
Rivas said it sounded like the agenda item would return to the board to fill in the details. He called it “a very important first step.”
