United Farm Workers cancels Chavez Day event after abuse allegations
United Farm Workers has decided to skip its Cesar Chavez Day event due to troubling allegations against co-founder Cesar Chavez.
This story has been updated to add new information.
The United Farm Workers announced it would not participate in any Cesar Chavez Day activities, citing “deeply disturbing” allegations by the union’s co-founder, a civil rights activist.
“The UFW has learned of deeply disturbing allegations that one of our union’s co-founders, Mr. Cesar Chavez, has acted in ways that are inconsistent with our organization’s values,” the union said in a statement on Tuesday, March 17. “Some of the reporting is a family matter and is not our story or place to comment. Far more troubling are the allegations regarding the abuse of young women and minors.”
The union said it had no direct knowledge of the allegations and had not received any first-hand reports. But the allegations are “severe enough that we feel we must take urgent steps to learn more and provide space for those who may have been affected to find support and, if they wish, to share their stories.”
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Mr. Chavez, whose legacy was long admired and whose name was on the streets and schools of California and the United States, died in 1993. The following year, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton. He is celebrated on March 31st every year.
The Cesar Chavez Foundation also released a statement on March 17 acknowledging the allegations.
“The Cesar Chavez Foundation has become aware of disturbing allegations that Cesar Chavez engaged in inappropriate sexual acts with women and minors while president of the United Farm Workers (UFW),” the foundation said.
United Farm Workers and the Cesar Chavez Foundation did not immediately respond to USA TODAY Network’s requests for comment or additional questions about the allegations against labor leaders.
The foundation said it was “shocked and saddened” by the news.
“The Foundation is working with leaders in the farmworker movement to respond to these allegations, to support those who may have been harmed by his actions, and to ensure that we are united and guided by our commitment to justice and community empowerment,” the foundation said.
Who is Cesar Chavez?
Cesar Chavez was a labor organizer and civil rights activist who became one of the most influential figures in the modern farm worker movement, particularly in California and the American Southwest.
Born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927, Chavez grew up in a family of migrant farm workers and had first-hand experience of poverty and unstable housing. These experiences shaped his subsequent activism and efforts to improve working conditions for agricultural workers, many of whom were immigrants and people of color, with few legal protections.
Chavez rose to prominence in the 1960s after co-founding what became the United Farm Workers organization. He advocated nonviolent protest, drawing inspiration from figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. His organizing efforts included strikes, marches, boycotts, and long fasts that drew national attention to the treatment of farm workers.
Among the most notable movements associated with Chávez was the Delano grape strike and subsequent grape boycott, which helped push growers to recognize unions and negotiate labor contracts. The movement brought issues such as low wages, exposure to pesticides, and unsafe working conditions into the national conversation.
History of UFW
The roots of the United Farm Workers movement date back to the early 1960s. At the time, farmworkers, many of them immigrants and people of color, were excluded from basic labor protections and worked in harsh conditions with little political power.
Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and other organizers founded an organization that began as the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the UFW. The union focused on organizing agricultural workers who face low wages, exposure to pesticides, and limited access to health care.
The UFW gained national attention through nonviolent campaigns that included strikes, marches, boycotts, and public fasts. The Delano Grape Strike and Grape Boycott brought national attention to the conditions of farm workers and drew support from labor, religious, and civil rights groups.
Over time, the union won contracts that improved wages, working conditions, and protections for farm workers, and began to work closely with President Chávez and his leaders. Although the UFW’s influence subsequently waned amid legal, political, and domestic challenges, it remained a powerful symbol of farmworker advocacy.
Today, the UFW continues to represent farmworkers and engage in political organizing, even as it reevaluates how its history and the legacy of its founders are understood.
Although Chavez is widely admired, historians and former members of the farm worker movement have long debated aspects of his leadership, including internal union practices and decision-making.
Chávez believed that undocumented workers were undermining strikes, and based on this view, the UFW took aggressive measures in the late 1960s and 1970s, such as so-called “wet lines” aimed at deterring border crossings and “illegality campaigns” that encouraged undocumented workers to report them to federal authorities. Historians, including biographer Miriam Powell, have documented claims that some encounters included intimidation and violence. Chávez also described the strikebreakers in terms that critics say would draw harsh criticism today.
Cesar Chavez Day, Landmark
Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated in California every March 31st.
The Golden State also has numerous landmarks honoring his legacy, most notably the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene. This monument, located on the grounds known as Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz, commemorates Chávez’s final resting place. This site was also the former headquarters of the UFW.
Other dedicated sites in California include the Cesar E. Chavez Monument in San Fernando; The monument is a 23,000-square-foot park-like monument featuring a bronze statue of Chavez, a 100-foot-tall mural, a fountain, and sculptures of farm workers. Additionally, the Cesar Chavez Statue at California State University, San Marcos includes a bronze statue of Chavez that was unveiled in March 1997 on campus in what is known as Chavez Plaza.
In addition to the physical dedication, numerous schools, parks, libraries, and streets in California have been named in Chavez’s honor, including streets in Coachella, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.
There are multiple Cesar Chavez Elementary Schools in San Jose and elsewhere, and Perris is also home to the Cesar E. Chavez Library.
Several facilities have been established in Chavez’s home state of Arizona, including the Cesar Chavez Community Center and Cesar Chavez Park in Phoenix, and the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center in San Luis.
Outside of California and Arizona, there is a statue of Chavez at the University of Texas.
Chavez’s portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. He is also in the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C.
There are also streets, schools, and parks named after him across the country, including Albuquerque, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. please contact her pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
