DEPARTMENT: Human Resources
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Renee Frieda, Interim Human Resources Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City wide
SUBJECT:
Briefing and discussion of a Council Consideration Request (CCR) to add the last Monday of March as an annual city holiday to honor Cesar Chavez.
SUMMARY:
Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales initiated a Council Consideration Request to add the last Monday of March to the city holiday calendar to honor Cesar Chavez and the work he did to further the civil rights movement.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Human Resources department conducted research into the holidays observed in each of the seven major cities, and Corpus Christi, TX. The research found that other cities in Texas (Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, and Corpus Christi) do not have a holiday dedicated to Cesar Chavez. Additionally, of the eight cities surveyed, only three recognize Cesar Chavez Day as a City holiday (San Diego, CA; San Jose CA; and Phoenix, AZ). Due to his contributions to labor relations, Dallas honors Cesar Chavez as a part of their Labor Day holiday.
Currently, the City of San Antonio has 13 paid holidays. For comparison, the cities researched have paid holidays ranging in number from seven to twelve.
ISSUE:
This CCR is for briefing and discussion purposes, to consider adding Cesar Chavez day as a paid City holiday.
ALTERNATIVES:
Recognizing Cesar Chavez’s labor relations contributions on Labor Day would leave the count of paid City holidays at 13, while the alternative of adding an additional holiday to the City holiday calendar would bring the total number of holidays to 14.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with honoring Cesar Chavez’s accomplishments during the existing Labor Day holiday. The cost of an additional City holiday would need to account for considerations such as the cost of premium pay (at a rate of 1.5 times their standard pay) to all uniform and civilian employees scheduled to work that day and the cost of banking a holiday for future leave for the employees who must work the new holiday.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends honoring Cesar Chavez on Labor Day. This will allow the City to maintain the currently approved 13 city recognized holidays while recognizing Cesar Chavez’s contributions to labor relations and the civil rights movement.