Hey, I’ve Seen This Before…

With the Cesar Chavez holiday upon us, it looks like the Schwarzenegger Administration is continuing to stick a needle on the eyes of working Californians.

According to a Mercury News story earlier this week, “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's idea of a tribute to [Cesar] Chavez -- to work on Thursday -- is sending an uneasy message to those who worked hard to secure the holiday in the first place.”

When asked if the governor was going to do anything to commemorate the state holiday, a Schwarzenegger aide said, “Certainly there can be no better homage to Cesar Chavez than working.”

Others disagree. ``He doesn't see Cesar Chavez as worthy of having his own holiday,'' said Ray Baeza, chair of the Latino Caucus for the Service Employees International Union, Local 715, in San Jose. ``Perhaps he should go down to the fields and honor farm workers and the great work they do.'' (San Jose Mercury News, March 30, 2005)

In any event, the Schwarzenegger operation does seem to have taken a few shortcuts today. Witness the amazing similarities between today’s Chavez Day Proclamation issued by the Governor’s Office and the bio on the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation Website:

- Proclamation: “Cesar Estrada Chavez was a farm worker, civil rights leader, spiritual figure, environmentalist, consumer advocate and crusader for nonviolent change.”

- Foundation: “Cesar was a civil rights, Latino, farm worker, and labor leader; a religious and spiritual figure; a community servant and social entrepreneur; a crusader for nonviolent social change; and an environmentalist and consumer advocate.”

- Proclamation: “Cesar Chavez founded the first successful farm workers union in American history. His vision inspired an organization whose mission was to reclaim dignity, fair wages, medical coverage, benefits and humane living conditions, as well as many other fundamental rights for hundreds of thousands of people.”

- Foundation: “For more than three decades Cesar led the first successful farm workers union in American history, achieving dignity, respect, fair wages, medical coverage, pension benefits, and humane living conditions, as well as countless other rights and protections for hundreds of thousands of farm workers.”

While imitation can be considered the sincerest form of flattery, one would think the people Cesar Chavez championed deserve more than a cut-and-paste job to honor his memory.

Let’s hope the folks in the Horseshoe at least took some time for lunch today, something the Schwarzenegger Administration tried to deny workers via emergency regulations to change the rules concerning when workers can take meal breaks.

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