Now, less than two weeks before California was to celebrate the state holiday honoring the late labor leader\u2019s birthday, state and national Democrats are grappling with the shocking revelation that multiple women have come forward alleging that Ch\u00e1vez raped them. One of those women was his partner in the movement, Dolores Huerta.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, The New York Times published<\/a> an investigation naming three women who accused Ch\u00e1vez of using his position of power to sexually assault them. Two were the daughters of union leaders. They told the Times they were abused as girls.<\/p>\n The other was Huerta, herself a labor icon, who co-founded the farmworker union with Ch\u00e1vez, popularized the rallying cry of \u201cS\u00ed, se puede\u201d and who remains a towering figure in Democratic politics. Huerta said in the Times story that Ch\u00e1vez had raped her, and that she had given birth to two children after encounters with him.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, he used some of his great leadership to abuse women and children \u2013 it\u2019s really awful,\u201d Huerta, 95, told the Times.<\/p>\n Dolores Huerta speaks at the CalMatters event \u201cFarmworker Health: How Can California Protect its Essential Workers?\u201d in Bakersfield on Feb. 22, 2024. (Jules Hotz for CalMatters)<\/p>\n Dolores Huerta speaks at the CalMatters event \u201cFarmworker Health: How Can California Protect its Essential Workers?\u201d in Bakersfield on Feb. 22, 2024.<\/p>\n The fallout from the revelations was immediate as Democratic politicians and labor activists scrambled to react to one of their heroes being forever tarnished.<\/p>\n \u201cHow many days I\u2019ve marched, how many times I\u2019ve been with students, talking about the movement, how many photographs I have in my house of Bobby Kennedy and C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez,\u201d Newsom told reporters at a press conference. \u201cIt\u2019s been hard to absorb this.\u201d<\/p>\n His wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a sexual assault survivor and director of several films about gender equality, told reporters in tears that she was \u201cshaking a little about Dolores and these young women.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe women are in our hearts,\u201d she said in Spanish.<\/p>\n California starts scrubbing Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name<\/p>\n Other state political leaders, members of Congress and Democratic candidates for governor, meanwhile, put out statements condemning the allegations and showing support for the women who spoke out.<\/p>\n \u201cFor survivors and their families, the weight of their pain is real and ongoing,\u201d Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas<\/a> said in a statement that didn\u2019t name Ch\u00e1vez. \u201cThe farmworker movement has never been about one man; it is bigger than any one person, and its values of dignity and justice are more important now than ever. To those who have found the courage to come forward, my heart is with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Rivas, like many California Democrats serving in the Legislature, has close ties to the labor movement and is a former union member.<\/p>\n Rivas grew up in farmworker housing and has long made Ch\u00e1vez part of his political story. In 2024<\/a>, he was honored at the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Foundation alongside Jane Fonda.<\/p>\n Rivas\u2019 office didn\u2019t respond to CalMatters when asked whether the Legislature will fast-track legislation to rename the state holiday in time for March 31. The Legislature made it an official holiday in 2000. To change the name, the Legislature would have to pass a bill that Newsom would have to sign into law.<\/p>\n Newsom told reporters he was open to the idea, but leaders need some time to absorb the shock.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to unpack all of this, dive a little deeper first to understand, before we jump to the next steps,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of urgency on that in the context of this being the month we celebrate the life and times of a figure we\u2019ve long embraced and revered.\u201d<\/p>\n The Legislature\u2019s Latino Caucus also is discussing what to do, said Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Mark Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAll options are being thoughtfully considered in response to the allegations of sexual violence involving C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, including the possibility of renaming the state holiday,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThis is a moment that calls for care, accountability, and a commitment to supporting survivors of sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, local leaders were also considering removing Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name from their landmarks.<\/p>\n Cities review park, street names<\/p>\n San Diego officials may rename C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Parkway, according to spokesperson Dave Rolland.<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations of abuse involving C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez are shocking and disturbing,\u201d Mayor Todd Gloria, a Democrat, said in a statement. \u201cOur first concern must be with the survivors who have come forward and those who were unable to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n The city, which is the second most-populous in the state, has a park and avenue named after the civil rights leader.<\/p>\n In Sacramento, where C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Plaza sits just a few blocks from the Capitol, leaders also are taking steps to rename the landmark.<\/p>\n A sculpture dedicated to C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez and the farmworkers labor movement stands at C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez Memorial Plaza in Sacramento on March 18, 2026. The monument depicts C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez leading farmworkers during the historic march to the state Capitol in Sacramento in 1966. (Miguel Gutierrez Jr.\/CalMatters)<\/p>\n Mayor Kevin McCarty, a former Democratic lawmaker who says he participated in UFW and Ch\u00e1vez Day marches for 30 years, was convening a subcommittee to work on changing the name.<\/p>\n \u201cWe take these allegations seriously and will ensure the naming of our city facilities aligns with our values,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n A demonstrator holds a portrait of activist C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez during a rally hosted by the United Farm Workers of America urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign AB 2183 in Sacramento on Aug. 26, 2022.<\/p>\n Ch\u00e1vez a towering figure in Democratic politics<\/p>\n For many Democrats, Ch\u00e1vez was more than just a historical figure \u2014 he embodied the party\u2019s ideals about labor, justice and social change. He was also a revered leader within the Latino communities, many of whom remembered him for his decades-long fight for farmworker rights.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly no one can deny that C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez has been an incredibly influential figure in not just California\u2019s landscape, but really nationally,\u201d said Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy who studies Latino politics.<\/p>\n From rallies to protests to floor speeches, California Democrats frequently invoke his name. Lawmakers have referenced Ch\u00e1vez at least 278 times in hearings since 2023, according to the CalMatters Digital Democracy database<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will often see invoking of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez \u2026 as almost proof that they are in solidarity with the labor movement and Latino community,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s legislative floor sessions commemorating C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day featured one lawmaker after the other extolling Ch\u00e1vez and what he represented.<\/p>\n A person holds a portrait of activist C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez during a rally hosted by the United Farm Workers of America urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign AB 2183 in Sacramento on Aug. 26, 2022. (Rahul Lal for CalMatters)<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many communities in California that have schools and health clinics and major boulevards and thoroughfares named for C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez and for all of this legacy, and they are a recognition of that past. Those roads are the roads to somewhere,\u201d West Sacramento Democratic Sen. Christopher Cabaldon told his colleagues<\/a> at the time. \u201cThey are the roads for us to continue to press, to fight, especially now, to make real that dream. Because not every farm worker in California has achieved the dreams that Cesar and everyone else that’s been mentioned on this floor has aspired to.\u201d<\/p>\n The significance of Chavez\u2019s legacy, however, is exactly why the allegations are tough to swallow for Democrats and labor organizers, said Christian Dyogi Phillips, former political director at a Service Employees International Union chapter in Texas and now associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n \u201cAs organizers, we are always trying to understand power and figure out how we can distribute it more fairly and ensure that people have a voice,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd all of those dynamics are wrapped up in this story that\u2019s unfolding, and how power has been abused, how people do not have a voice. As organizers, I think there\u2019s nothing worse than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Few Latino leaders received recognition as widespread as Chavez: Then-President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a loss of a hero, but you also just have recognition for our community that is going to be questioned,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow people will struggle with reconciling this new, horrible element of his history,\u201d she added. \u201cDo people continue to celebrate him? How do they recognize his impact with this new history?\u201d<\/p>\n For some Democrats, the allegations were shocking beyond what Ch\u00e1vez represented to their movement.<\/p>\n Personal connections to Ch\u00e1vez<\/p>\n Some had personal connections to Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s alleged victims.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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