The National Park Service has been directed by Congress to conduct a "special resource study" of sites that are significant to the life of Cesar E.
Chavez and the farm labor movement in the western United States. Cesar Chavez is recognized as the most important U.S. Latino leader of the twentieth century. During the 1960s, Chavez led a movement of thousands of farmworker families and their supporters as they created the nation's first permanent agricultural labor union. As president, Chavez steered that union to a series of unprecedented vict
ories, including contracts that cover more than 100,000 farmworkers, raised wages, funded health care and pension plans, mandated the provision of drinking water and restroom facilities in the fields, regulated the use of pesticides in the fields, and established a fund for community service projects. Chavez's advocacy helped secure the passage of the first law in the U.S. that specifically recognized farmworkers' rights to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining. The inspirational aspects of Chavez's legacy are evident in the countless schools, community centers, parks and streets named after him, as well as in the younger generations of labor leaders, political and social leaders and community organizers who continue to revitalize grassroots democracy in twenty-first century America. We hope this page will become a place where fans feel comfortable sharing information about the study with one another. While this is an open forum, it is also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. Please be considerate of other fan's opinions. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here. If you do not comply, your message will be removed. We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions, nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone or any organization. We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Such posts and/or links are subject to deletion. People who continue to post such content and/or links may be subject to page participation restrictions and/or removal from the page. We do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity. You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided. Posting of external links on this site that are intended as advertising (or to drive traffic to websites unrelated to this study), or do not contribute to dialog and discussions about this study may be deleted. People who continue to post such links may be subject to page participation restrictions and/or removal from the page. External links do not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the U.S. National Park Service or the U.S. Department of Interior.
We'd like to hear your ideas for what sites, stories, and management ideas we should consider as we carry out this study. You will have two primary opportunities to share your thoughts with us - at the beginning of the study (the scoping phase) in the spring of 2011, and towards the end of the study process, when we publish a draft study report for public review and comment (targeted for fall 2011).
We will publish a newsletter in April 2011 which will provide more information about sites associated with Chavez and the farm labor movement, and ask for your thoughts on additional ways to commemorate and tell the farm labor movement story. We will also host public meetings in California and Arizona in April and May 2011. Please sign up for our e-mail list or mailing list so we can contact you to provide you with updates on the study process and seek your ideas, or check www.nps/pwro/chavez in a few weeks for updates and meeting schedules.
