Legislation hopes to honor Cesar E. Chavez and farmworkers in America

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Ahead of Cesar Chavez Day, the office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Raul Ruiz introduced legislation to create the Cesar E. Chavez and Farmworker Movement National Park.

Over 100 sites nationwide have been identified for potential designations.

Two of the initial three are right here in the Central Valley.

"It would be the national monument here in Keene where my father lived and worked and where he and my mother are buried. It would include the 40 acres in Delano, which was the union's first home and a place of many firsts," said Paul Chavez.

Paul is one of Cesar's eight sons and serves as the president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

His father spent most of his life fighting for farmworker rights across the nation.

The goal with the national parks is to continue the legacy of honoring farmworkers in America.

"They continue to ensure that we have food on our tables when many times they don't have food on theirs. It seems to me that this is the right thing to do and we call on everybody to get behind this effort," mentioned Paul.

Paul hopes this initiative will help farmworkers feel included and seen.

"They would be treated as human beings and as such that they would receive fair wages and working conditions that were safe and they would be given the opportunity to actively participate in the civic and the social and political affairs in the community in which they live in," he explains.

This is the second time the legislation has been introduced.

While it didn't pass the first time around, the Cesar Chavez foundation is not giving up.

"We are mindful that it is gonna be a tough process but what we have learned from my father is you don't stop and if you don't succeed then you try again and you try again," said Paul.

Paul also mentions he hopes creating National parks to honor farm workers will help spark a conversation about a path to citizenship.