1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
BY: Joy Casucci, Administrative Analyst II
SUBJECT: Consideration of a Resolution Designating Cesar Chavez Day as a Holiday for City Employees
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Council c ould :
1. Note and file the report ;
2. Direct staff to come back for a second step ; or
3. Forgo the customary second step in the additional agenda item process ; Adopt
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK ESTABLISHING
CESAR CHAVEZ DAY AS A CITY OF BURBANK OBSERVED HOLIDAY FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
BACKGROUND
At the March 28, 2023 , City Council meeting, Council Member Perez requested a first step report for Council consideration to designat e Cesar Cha vez Day as a City of Burbank observed holiday for City Employees. This report contains more information than usual for a first step report because much of this information was analyzed as part of the work done in 2022 to establish Juneteenth as a City observed holiday.
Cesar Chavez was a Mexican -American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers Unio n (UFW) with Dolores Huerta in 1962.
He was born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927 and became a migrant farm worker after his family lost their farm during the Great Depression.
Through the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez organized thousands of farm workers an d encouraged them to demand safe and fair working conditions. Cesar Chavez is best known for his nonviolent methods such as marches, boycotts, and hunger strikes to fight for better pay and working conditions for farm workers in California and beyond. His tireless leadership and nonviolent tactics, including the
2 Delano gra pe strike, and the 340 -mile march from Delano to Sacramento in 1966, are some of his most notable contributions. H e focused national attention on the plight of farm workers and made the world aware of the exposure to dangerous chemicals that farm workers a nd consumers face d daily. Cesar Chavez died in 1993 after spending his life engaging in a national struggle for social change.
As a result of these and other valuable contributions, countless schools, roads, libraries, and other public institutions have b een named in recognition of Cesar Chavez. Furthermore, cities throughout the nation have honored him by establishing an official city holiday in his name.
DISCUSSION
Under existing law, t he State of California recognizes March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, a paid holiday for State employees . In August 2000, California became the first state to proclaim Cesar Chavez Day a state holiday. This day is also a commemorative federal holiday proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014.
In California , the City of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and the Count ies of Los Angeles and Santa Clara observe Cesar Chavez Day as a holiday .
In officially recognizing Cesar Chavez Day as a holiday, t he City of Burbank would not only be aligned with other local agencies, but it would be setting a precedent for more agencies to follow.
The designation of Cesar Chavez Day as a holiday for City employees would involve the closure of City facilities for the day, as permitted by Burbank Municipal Code § 2-1-608.
The impacts on employees of designating Cesar Chavez as a City -observed holiday are subject to meet and confer with the City’s labor groups. The City’s Management S ervices Department would lead the meet and confer process, which would include the addition of Cesar Chavez day as a paid holiday for employees and would take place prior to the first observation of the Cesar Chavez holiday in 2024.
If approved, the City ’s list of holidays for which City facilities are closed would look as follows:
Date Observed Holiday
January 1 New Year’s Day
Third Monday in January Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Third Monday in February Presidents’ Day
March 31 Cesar Chavez Day
Last Monday in May Memorial Day
June 19 Juneteenth National Independence Day
July 4 Independence Day
First Monday in September Labor Day
November 11 Veterans Day
3 Fourth Thursday of November Thanksgiving Day
Friday following Thanksgiving Day After Thanksgiving
December 25 Christmas
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and such as, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs §15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Management Services Department worked with Financial Services and all departments to conduct a fiscal impact assessment on instituting Cesar Chavez Day as a paid holiday for City employees . The assessment revealed a minimum cost of approximately $382,532.46 annually to implement Cesar Chavez Day as a City holiday ($254,502.50 General Fund, $112,770.54 Burb ank Water and Power, and $ 15,259.42 other Non-General Fund ). The assessment took into consideration overtime costs, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) rate, and employee benefits. This estimate includes:
• Additional holiday pay of approximately $ 254,761.92 for Police and Fire safety employees, part -time employees represented by the Burbank City Employees ’ Association, and certain positions in Public Works. • An estimated $1 5,000 for the following Parks & Recreation sections:
Landsca pe (five employees to clean and maintain parks), Aquatics (pool operation at reduced hours), the Burbank Animal Shelter (limited patrol and care) , and afterschool childcare for B urbank Unified School District due to schools being open for instruction that day .
• Approximately $ 112, 770.54 for Burbank Water and Power operations.
This is a minimum estimate which is subject to change based on staffing requirements and operational needs. The resolution included wi th this report, that the Council could choose to adopt, includes an appropriation t o address the estimated fiscal impact for fiscal year (FY) 2023 -24. The resolution would amend the FY 2023 -24 Adopted Budget by appropriating $ 127,500 from account number 001.ND000.30010.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, Non -Departmental, Unassigned Fund Balance) to expenditure account number
001.ND01A.60018.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, Non -Departmental, Holdi ng Salaries) for the Cesar Chavez Day. These funds would cover General Fund expenses related to the holiday for the remainder of FY 2023024 following the meet and confer process with the labor groups . Burbank Water and Power has sufficient funds in its exi sting budget to cover the increase identified for the department .
CONCLUSION
4 Instituting Cesar Chavez Day as a City observed holiday is an important opportunity to honor and recognize his significant contribution s. Cesar Chavez Day will provide a day of reflection and commemoration of his hard -won strides for social justice, giving a pathway for laborers to receive better working conditions. Staff is supportive of designating Cesar Chavez Day as a City observed holiday because it aligns with the Ci ty’s current efforts on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution