UFW President’s HuffPo Piece about D.C. Chavez Screening Urges Readers to Sign Petition at TakePart

Cesar Chavez Movie Inspires Members of Congress
Posted: 02/07/2014 8:49 am EST
By Arturo S. Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers

I just had the honor of watching a screening of the upcoming feature film “Cesar Chavez” and participating in a panel discussion on his life and work as part of a program hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). The panel included: Director Diego Luna; actress America Ferrera, who plays Helen Chavez in the movie; Cesar’s son and President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Paul F. Chavez; and Members of Congress.

Cesar said many times that if his movement didn’t survive his death then his work would be in vain. To that end, his union continues to aggressively help farm workers organize and negotiate new UFW contracts that dramatically change their lives, and win new legal protections.

The UFW negotiated with the nation’s growers to create the agricultural provisions of the bipartisan immigration reform bill passed by the Senate. If the House acts, immigrant farm workers here now could finally earn legal status by continuing to work on farms, thus freeing them from their vulnerability to abuse. This is especially important, as the people who labor in our fields are overwhelmingly Latino and undocumented.