Labor leader Cesar Chavez calls for legislative action at the state Capitol on May 4, 1979.
LEO NEIBAUR
Sacramento Bee file
Sacramento will hold its annual Cesar Chavez march later this month, even as several cities across the country canceled similar events following abuse allegations involving the iconic Chicano leader that surfaced this week.
The California-based labor union United Farm Workers, which Chavez helped found, said in a statement Tuesday that it learned of “deeply troubling allegations” involving the abuse of young women or minors. The union did not provide details but said it had not received reports firsthand. Several news outlets reported Tuesday that a large investigation is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
The announcement came two weeks before Cesar Chavez Day, observed March 31. The day has been a state holiday in California since 2000 and a federal commemorative holiday since 2014. The UFW said it would not participate in any Cesar Chavez Day activities.
“These allegations have been profoundly shocking,” the union said. “We need some time to get this right.”
Chavez is a revered figure in California history and among the U.S. Latino community. He rose to national prominence in the 1960s for organizing farmworkers and highlighting the struggles of agricultural laborers who earned low wages and lived in substandard conditions.
The UFW flag, which shows a black Aztec eagle on a red background, became synonymous with the Chicano movement. Schools, parks and streets were renamed in Chavez’s honor after his death in 1993. Sacramento renamed a plaza in downtown for Chavez in 1997.
A 1983 poll by the Los Angeles Times found Chavez to be the most admired leader of Latinos. The UFW flag remains in use in social justice movements, including among younger Latinos unfamiliar with its origins.
The 24th annual Sacramento Cesar Chavez March remains scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 28, organizer Carlos Padilla said Tuesday. In recent weeks, multiple events nationwide — including in Tucson, Arizona; Houston; and San Antonio, Texas — were canceled, often without explanation, according to The Los Angeles Times. Additional cancellations were announced Tuesday.
Francisco Garcia, who served as the march’s main organizer for 15 years, said the march has never focused entirely on Chavez, despite its name.
“We never romanticized the idea of Chavez,” Garcia said. “We honored the work that he did in the past with the farm workers, but we were more about today, more about the struggle of our people.”
Padilla said the labor union coalition organizing the march would meet Wednesday to discuss a potential “rebrand” of the event. He echoed Garcia and said the march is largely centered on worker and immigrant rights.
Padilla encouraged capital residents to join in uplifting the “working family struggle” particularly given what he described as increased “attacks on the Chicano and Mexican community” by immigration enforcement officials.
“We can’t allow any distractions away from that actual fight,” Padilla said. “The fight that happened in the fields years ago, is still going on today, which is why we say the struggle continues. La lucha sigue because we’re still in this fight for our dignity.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 3:48 PM.
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Mathew Miranda is a political reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, covering how decisions in Washington, D.C., affect the lives of Californians. He is a proud son of Salvadoran immigrants and earned degrees from Chico State and UC Berkeley.