California Unanimously Renames César Chávez Day After Bombshell Sexual Abuse Allegations

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday renaming the state's César Chávez Day as "Farmworkers Day," completing a stunning reversal of the longtime labor icon's legacy just days after a New York Times investigation revealed that Chávez sexually abused young girls and women during his decades leading the United Farm Workers union. Assembly Bill 2156, which passed the California State Senate 37 to 0 and cleared the Assembly with equally unanimous support, took effect immediately, meaning the March 31 holiday will be observed under its new name for the first time this year.

The legislation was prompted by a bombshell March 18 Times investigation that detailed allegations of sexual abuse spanning Chávez's years building one of the most consequential labor movements in American history. The most prominent accuser was Dolores Huerta, 95, who co-founded the UFW alongside Chávez and was, for decades, one of his most celebrated partners in the struggle for farmworker rights. Huerta stated that Chávez had sexually abused her nearly 60 years ago, adding her voice to accounts from other women who said they were victimized by the man California had celebrated as a civil rights hero. Legislative leaders moved within a single day of the allegations becoming public, introducing and advancing the renaming bill at extraordinary speed.

The bill was authored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat from Salinas — the Monterey County city that sits at the heart of the agricultural region Chávez organized — and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, also a Democrat. Rivas expressed a desire to honor the farmworker movement's genuine achievements while acknowledging that its most famous founder could no longer be its symbol. "The movement belongs to the farmworkers," he said in a statement. "It always did." Newsom, who signed the bill the same day the Senate passed it, said California must confront difficult truths even about figures it has long celebrated.

California was the first state in the nation to establish a César Chávez Day, doing so 26 years ago. The reversal now sets in motion a broader effort to remove Chávez's name from public spaces across the state. School districts, universities, and municipal governments have begun moving to rename boulevards, libraries, school buildings, and campus statues. Several California State University campuses announced within hours of the bill's passage that they would begin processes to remove Chávez's name from buildings and dedications. The University of California system said it would review all named buildings and honors associated with Chávez in light of the allegations.

The speed and unanimity of the legislative response reflects both the severity of the accusations and the particular political moment. California has in recent years moved aggressively to remove the names of figures associated with colonialism, slavery, and abuse from public spaces, making the state unusually well-practiced at the difficult civic process of reassessing whom it chooses to honor. Farmworker advocacy organizations said they supported renaming the holiday to refocus attention on the movement's ongoing work rather than any single individual. The UFW itself issued a statement acknowledging that "the movement is bigger than any one person," while expressing sorrow over the allegations against its founder. For Dolores Huerta, who spent six decades building the legacy that now requires this reckoning, the bill's signing was a moment of painful, overdue accountability.