Bill would name post o ce for labor activist

BRAWLEY — The post o ce here could be renamed in honor of Brawley native and labor activist Helen Fabela Chávez as a result of proposed federal legislation.

The proposed bill, introduced by Congressman Juan Vargas on July 18, seeks to honor Chávez for her “tireless work of pushing the labor movement forward, while supporting her growing family.”

If approved, the Main Street post office would be renamed the Helen Fabela Chávez Memorial Post O ce Building, a press release stated.

“For far too long, women — especially women of color — have gone unrecognized for their tremendous sacrifice and courageous leadership throughout our nation’s history,” Vargas said in a written statement. “Helen Fabela Chávez was one of these inspiring women.”

Chávez was born in Brawley in 1928 and subsequently relocated to the Central Valley, where she dropped out of high school in Delano to help support her family by working in the fields.

She met her husband, Cesar Chávez, in the mid-1940s in Delano while they were both working as farm workers, the United Farm Workers website stated.

She is largely credited with helping her husband establish the United Farm Workers union and raising their eight children while he attended to union activities.

A modest and private person, Helen Fabela Chávez also helped operate the Farm Workers Credit Union for more than 25 years before retiring. She died in June 2016 at the age of 88 in Bakersfield.

“It is altogether fitting that Rep. Vargas’ bill would name the post office in Brawley for my mother, whose fierce determination helped change the lives of thousands of farm workers and millions of others who were inspired by La Causa,” said Paul F. Chavez, son and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, in a written statement.

Brawley Mayor Donald l. Wharton said the proposed bill, if passed, would be a welcome addition in a city that already has a street named in honor of her husband.

Aside from the role she and her husband played in helping shape labor and civil rights in the state and nation, Fabela Chávez also deserves recognition, Wharton said, for providing for her growing family during such trying times.

“I think celebrating the rich history that represents our community and our region is very important,” he said.

In 1998, similar federal legislation was enacted to rename the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in honor of the late congressman whose district included parts of the sea.