In an effort to honor Latino history and further representation across the city, Fort Worth City Council member Carlos Flores wants to make Cesar Chavez Day a paid holiday for all city employees.
The proposal comes with a price tag of over $3.4 million, but would bring Fort Worth up to the standard number of holidays seen across local municipalities in Texas, according to a staff report presented to council members during an April 15 work session meeting.
It would also spotlight the work of Hispanic civil rights activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, who are known for their fight alongside the United Farm Workers of America for better wages and working conditions in the 1960s. Chavez, who died in 1993, and Huerta, who continues to advocate for immigrants鈥� and women鈥檚 rights at age 95, both visited Fort Worth as part of their advocacy efforts.
Flores said having the pair recognized in Fort Worth in this way would also help provide representation for the Hispanic community. Fort Worth鈥檚 population is about 35% Hispanic, according to 2021 U.S. Census Bureau data.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important, I think, to have that kind of visibility and recognition,鈥� Flores told the Report after the meeting. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been very cognizant (and) respectful of history. So this is no different, right?鈥�
In 2020, Flores helped advocate for the city to honorarily rename portions of 28th Street/Ephriham Avenue to Dolores Huerta Avenue and Cesar Chavez Avenue, according to . Community members celebrated the installation of street topper signs in January 2021.
Flores said now is a good time to consider the proposal to add Cesar Chavez Day, which falls on March 31, to the city鈥檚 paid holiday schedule, as council members are poised to kick off the process of adopting the city鈥檚 budget later this month. Council members will meet for their first work session meeting of the process April 29.
Still, Flores knows $3.4 million is a big ask, and he鈥檚 willing to continue conversations surrounding the city鈥檚 priorities in next year鈥檚 budget.
鈥淭his is important, obviously, and we have to also consider in that same balance, those city services that we are obligated to deliver, that our residents expect us to deliver in an efficient way,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淎nd so that鈥檚 why I wanted to have it in that same context, so that we can achieve a good balance. I think it鈥檚 possible.鈥�
The city currently gives employees 11 paid holidays per year: New Year鈥檚 Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus two personal holidays that employees can take at their own discretion. On average, large Texas cities offer 12 paid holidays, according to the staff report.
The proposal comes as Cesar Chavez Day earns headlines in Tarrant County. Last summer, Tarrant County commissioners scrapped a proposal to swap Cesar Chavez Day for Veterans Day on the county鈥檚 paid holiday schedule. Community members protested outside the county鈥檚 administration building in downtown Fort Worth, asking commissioners to veto the proposal and never reconsider it. The county has recognized the holiday since 2001.
Earlier this month, two county commissioners voted against a proclamation honoring the of the Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Committee of Tarrant County. Judge Tim O鈥橦are and Commissioner Matt Krause, both Republicans, refused to sign off on the proclamation, with Krause saying he couldn鈥檛 because of Huerta鈥檚 previous experience as an honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. The proclamation ultimately passed 3-2.
In Texas, the only city and county governments to offer Cesar Chavez Day as a paid holiday are Tarrant County, Dallas County and San Antonio, according to the staff report.
In 1985, Chavez spoke at a fundraiser in Fort Worth hosted by local activist Dalila 鈥淏illie鈥� Reyna Dolenz in her Mistletoe Heights home, where he discussed the struggle of farm workers who were impacted by pesticide spraying and lacked health care.
Huerta has visited Fort Worth several times, most recently in 2023 to reflect on her legacy during a lecture at Texas Christian University. In 2014, she visited Dolores Huerta Elementary, built and named after her in 2004 in the Northside neighborhood, to participate in a celebration honoring the United Farm Workers鈥� achievements.
Council member Jeanette Martinez, the first Latina to serve on Fort Worth City Council, said during the work session meeting that she would be in support of adding the holiday.
Council member Jared Williams said he supports designating the holiday but added that he wants the council to continue working on increasing the city鈥檚 minimum wage, an effort he has long advocated for.
In January, council members to conduct the city鈥檚 first comprehensive pay study since 2014. The $450,000 contract came after union leaders and activists unsuccessfully advocated to to $20 per hour last summer.
Council members raised the minimum wage from $15.45 to $18 per hour in October. The change went into effect in February.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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