1 hour ago
2
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers voted Thursday to rename Cesar Chavez Day arsenic Farmworkers Day successful an effort to reconcile the Latino labour icon's bequest with explosive intersexual maltreatment allegations earlier the authorities vacation connected March 31.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video supra is from a erstwhile broadcast and volition beryllium updated.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to rapidly motion the bill.
The alteration comes aft allegations became nationalist past week that Chavez had sexually abused girls and women during his days gathering a large farmworker labour rights question successful the 1960s successful California's cultivation heartland.
Among those who accused him was Dolores Huerta, who co-led the question that yet became the United Farm Workers.
The state's effort to rename the vacation is portion of a question of different moves to change memorials honoring the antheral who, successful the 1960s and 1970s, helped unafraid amended wages and moving conditions for farmworkers and had been admired by galore Democratic leaders.
The swift and sweeping effort to erase Chavez's sanction from nationalist beingness was antecedently unthinkable, arsenic his presumption had lone grown much iconic since his decease successful 1993.
Republican Sen. Suzette Valladares said Thursday that her household built a beingness successful California by moving the fields and that the question brought unneurotic workers from antithetic backgrounds.
"This is not astir 1 person. This is not astir 1 narrative," she said. "It's astir honoring generations of sacrifice, of resilience and hope."
Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limon said honoring farmworkers is particularly important successful the look of a bid of national raids crossed the authorities past year. A idiosyncratic successful her territory died aft being chased by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cause past summer, Limon said.
"His decease is simply a reminder of however overmuch farmworkers hazard each time to enactment nutrient connected our table," she said earlier the vote. "Our farmworkers punctual america that everyone deserves to beryllium treated with dignity and respect."
California was the archetypal authorities to designate Chavez's birthday, March 31, arsenic a vacation to grant the civilian rights person astir 30 years ago. The Legislature then, successful 2000, passed a measure to marque it an authoritative paid time disconnected for authorities employees and necessitate that students larn astir his bequest and his relation successful the labour question successful California. The authorities passed Thursday didn't code the program requirement. State leaders said they're successful speech with schoolhouse officials to set acquisition plans.
The California measure besides passed successful the Assembly with bipartisan enactment connected Monday.
"We cannot disregard wrongdoing and we should not proceed to observe a azygous idiosyncratic erstwhile the question itself is truthful overmuch bigger," Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said earlier the ballot Monday.
Since the allegations came to light, California State University, Fresno, has covered up Chavez's statue connected campus, portion cities similar San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento person taken steps to erase his sanction from nationalist landmarks. Some advocated for Huerta's sanction to regenerate Chavez's, and respective states already said they won't observe the day.
As his day approaches, cities crossed the state person remade oregon canceled yearly celebrations to grant him. In Tucson past weekend, the yearly César Chavez and Dolores Huerta March and Rally were scaled backmost and rebranded. There was nary march oregon car show, and it was billed alternatively arsenic the Comunidad y Labor Unity Fair to absorption much broadly connected labour rights without mentioning Chavez.
In Grand Junction, Colorado, the organizers of the yearly lawsuit successful Mesa County had already printed flyers and T-shirts, each bearing Chavez's name. There has been a flurry of societal media posts successful caller days to fto radical cognize the lawsuit volition spell connected Saturday arsenic the Sí, Se Puede Celebration instead.
In El Paso, Texas, March 31 volition beryllium celebrated arsenic the Community and Labor Heritage Day.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
