A proposal by a Central Valley lawmaker calls for renaming Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday, to Farmworker Day after rape allegations against the labor leader came to light Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Cesar Chavez Day, held annually on March 31 to honor Chavez\u2019s birthday, was established as a state holiday in 2000 in California and several other states designate the day as a public holiday.<\/p>\n
A New York Times investigation, published Wednesday morning, detailed accounts by multiple women, including civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who said Chavez sexually assaulted them. The revelation has drawn a swift response in the Valley leading to officials calling for the removal of his name from street signs to the removal of a statue at Fresno State.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarmworkers are essential to our everyday lives \u2013 from the food we eat to the economy we enjoy,\u201d said Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, who introduced the renaming bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fight for dignity in the fields was never about one person \u2013 it is about the millions of workers who sweat, toil and aspire for a better life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Assemblywoman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1S4A0045.JPG\" "\\"1S4A0045.JPG\\"")
Assemblywoman Macedo, R-Tulare, introduced a legislation to rename the March 31, the state holiday commemorating the birthday of Chavez to Farmworker Day. Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones mortizbriones@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
Macedo said her bill aims to honor the farmworkers who are the backbone of the state\u2019s $49 billion agricultural industry.<\/p>\n
Many local leaders and farmworker-centered organizations and unions have voiced their support for Dolores Huerta and the victims of sexual assault as well as the farmworkers movement.<\/p>\n
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center said in a statement that \u201cthe movement for farmworker justice has always been about more than one man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChanges in the fields have been won through the struggle of hundreds of thousands of farmworker women and men who stood together in the face of oppressive and violent farm labor conditions and fought for dignity and safe working conditions,\u201d the center said the statement.<\/p>\n
According to Macedo\u2019s office, she is amending her legislation, Assembly Bill 2407,<\/a> currently a California High-Speed Rail bill, to rename C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s Day to Farmworker Day.<\/p>\n Huerta said in a statement Wednesday morning that Chavez\u2019s actions should not \u201cdiminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever,\u201d Huerta said.<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones<\/a><\/p>\n The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones is a reporter and photographer for McClatchy\u2019s Vida en el Valle publication. She covers issues that impact the Latino community in the Central Valley. She is a regular contributor to La Abeja, The Bee\u2019s free weekly newsletter on Latino issues. | Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones es reportera y fot\u00f3grafa de la publicaci\u00f3n Vida en el Valle de McClatchy. Ella cubre temas que impactan a la comunidad latina en el Valle Central. Es colaboradora habitual de La Abeja, el bolet\u00edn semanal gratuito de The Bee sobre temas latinos.
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