Cesar Chavez Day Turned Farmworker’s Day
Steven Lopez | STAFF WRITER
April 09, 2026
Following recent allegations of sexual abuse raised against César Chávez, the California Legislature unanimously passed Assembly Bill 2156 on March 26, which renamed César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Day. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on the same day.
Césario Estrada “César” Chávez, born on March 31, 1927, was the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), a union of Hispanic farm workers in California. He led the Delano Grape Strike from 1965 to 1970, which protested the unfair treatment of Hispanic farm workers on table grape farms.
He was also the face of the Chicano Movement in the ’60s, which protested racism, suppression of cultural identity and political inequality.
The grape strike achieved better wages, safer working conditions and prohibited child labor exploitation on farms, while the Chicano Movement achieved increased political representation, bilingual education and the promotion of Chicano identity.
Chávez eventually died of natural causes on April 23, 1993.
In 2000, California codified into law a new state holiday, César Chávez Day, falling annually on March 31, with other states joining in later years. The holiday was not recognized at the federal level until President Barack Obama issued a proclamation in 2014, proclaiming March 31, 2014, as César Chávez Day.
On March 18, The New York Times published an article detailing a five-year-long investigation into sexual abuse claims against Chávez. The investigation included claims by two women who accused Chávez of sexual abuse, alleging that Chávez abused them when they were 12 and 13, respectively, and describing the acts as grooming.
The article stated that the women maintained their silence for 50 years because they feared that speaking out would damage the Farmworker Movement and Chávez’s legacy as a civil rights leader and Latino icon.
The New York Times also reported that Chávez sexually advanced on a 19-year-old girl in 1988, sharing that Chávez told her that “he could use his influence to get something named for her if she slept with him.” She was fired from a union-run health clinic after she refused his advances.
The investigation also reported that Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the UFW and co-leader of the grape strike, was sexually assaulted by Chávez on two separate occasions, according to a statement she posted to Medium. Huerta described one incident as occurring in an “environment where [she] felt trapped.”
Both incidents resulted in pregnancies and the birth of two children.
“One man does not define the farmworker
movement. I stand firmly with the survivors
coming forward and bravely sharing their stories.”Congresswoman Linda Sanchez
The children were confirmed to be Chávez’s and Huerta’s through DNA evidence acquired by The New York Times. Following the release of the article, Huerta also accused Chávez of emotional abuse, claiming that Chávez called her a “stupid b*tch” during a UFW meeting.
On March 17, the day before the article was published, the UFW released a statement saying that they had learned of the allegations against Chávez and had canceled their annual César Chávez Day tribute.
The family of César Chávez released a statement on March 18, stating that they were “devastated” by the allegations and that “This is deeply painful for our family.”
Following the article’s release, various cities and states began to terminate or rename César Chávez tributes.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to terminate commemoration of César Chávez Day and called for legislation to remove the holiday from state law. The State of Washington declared that Dolores Huerta’s birthday, April 10, will now be celebrated instead of Chávez’s.
California renamed the holiday to Farmworkers Day on March 26.
Various cities, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, San Fernando, San Diego, Berkeley, Milwaukee, Austin, San Antonio, Portland, Albuquerque, Bakersfield and others, have removed or are in the process of removing tributes to Chávez, including street names, park names, school names and statues.
The cities have also begun renaming or removing César Chávez Day from holiday calendars, with some cities renaming the holiday to Farmworkers Day.
In a statement on March 19, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, “I had the honor of meeting [Chávez] once and I thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime. When I heard the painful news from the sister that I admire so much, Dolores Huerta, my heart broke for what she went through.”
According to ABC News, in a press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated, “It is been hard to absorb this. [First Lady Jennifer Newsom] and I are very close with Dolores—so many of us are—but very close, have been for decades and decades…”
Newsom also stated, “So we are just going to have to reflect on all of that […] and reflect on a farm workers’ movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man.”
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, representing California’s 38th congressional district, which covers the City of Whittier, released a statement on Facebook, saying, “One man does not define the farmworker movement. I stand firmly with the survivors coming forward and bravely sharing their stories.”
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also released a statement saying that “The accusations published against César Chávez are deeply disturbing and profoundly serious. We cannot celebrate a man, regardless of his accomplishments, who harmed women and children in such vile ways.”
In an email sent to students on March 20, Whittier College President Kristine Dillon released a statement saying, “As we approach César Chávez Day, a state holiday recognized by the College on March 31 […] I want to acknowledge the difficult context surrounding the occasion this year, with recent revelations of sexual abuse that went unreported for many decades, now eroding the Chávez legacy.”
“We honor the history of labor rights and the achievements of collective action, as well as the contributions of civil rights leaders like Dolores Huerta. We also stand strongly with survivors.”
In a poll released on March 20 by YouGov, “13 percent [of respondents] had heard a lot about the allegations, 39 percent [had heard] a little, and 47 percent [had heard] nothing at all.”
After being told about the allegations, 52 percent of Americans supported renaming things bearing Chávez’s name. That includes 22 percent who said they never should have been named after Chávez and 29 percent who supported naming things for him before the allegations but now support renaming them.
Renaming was supported by 62 percent of those who had heard a little about Chávez’s allegations and 76 percent of those who had heard a lot. Only 11 percent of Americans opposed renaming things with Chávez’s name.
The poll also found that “the ratio of support to opposition for removing Chávez’s name is greater than three among men and women, among Hispanic Americans, and among liberals, moderates, and conservatives. The ratio of support to opposition also is three or greater among Hispanic men under 45, older Hispanic men, Hispanic women under 45, and older Hispanic women.”
As we approach Chávez’s 100th birthday in 2027, we must recognize that the Farmworkers’ Movement was not just Chávez; it was Mexican-Americans, Filipino-Americans, women, children, American citizens and foreign immigrants.
Chávez does not define the whole movement.
March 31 belongs to all farmworkers, to remember and honor their struggle for better and equal treatment. The legacy of the movement is not Chávez’s; it belongs to the people.