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KPBS Midday Edition

Cesar Chavez's Legacy Continues To Inspire San Diego Labor Movement

Legacy of Cesar Chavez in San Diego
Cesar Chavez's Legacy Continues To Inspire San Diego Labor Movement
GUESTSMickey Kasparian, President, San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council

Labor leaders and civil rights activist are remembering the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez Monday on what would have been the labor leader's 87th birthday.

KPBS' Midday Edition interviewed labor leaders about Chavez, who died in 1993.

A Democratic assemblyman from Oakland also was the featured speaker at an annual breakfast in San Diego to honor Chavez.

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Assemblyman Rob Bonta, the first Filipino American to be elected to the Legislature, is the son of farm workers who were active in the United Farm Workers, which Chavez co-founded.

A film about the civil rights leader also came out on Friday. "Cesar Chavez," directed by Diego Luna, traces the development of the UFW and the toll it took on the Chavez family.

"The movie is now reaching Americans across the entire country and really, in other parts of the world, about the work that he did, what he meant, his sacrifice, his value of education and dedication -- all those core beliefs that he had as a human being,'' San Diego Councilman David Alvarez told 10News.

Edgar Vega of the San Diego Cesar Chavez Commemorative Committee, which put on the sold-out breakfast at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside, said the film will help educate a new audience that may not have heard of Chavez before.

Corrected: June 30, 2022 at 5:20 PM PDT
City News Service contributed to this report.