March 19, 2026 — Members of Congress and state officials are working to distance celebrations, streets, and buildings from renowned farmworker union leader César Chavez, following extensive allegations of sexual abuse.

Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) in 1962 and died in 1993 at the age of 66. His work as a union leader and civil rights activist is remembered through César Chavez Day on March 31, and in the names of countless streets, government buildings, and more.

On Wednesday, a New York Times investigation reported that Chavez had allegedly groomed and sexually abused underage girls. The report details Chavez’s pattern of sexual abuse of women in the labor movement, including Dolores Huerta, who founded UFW alongside Chavez.

“I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here,” Huerta wrote in a statement published after the investigation, detailing her own experiences with Chavez. “I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor—of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.”

Civil Eats has not independently verified the Times allegations. The investigation included interviews with those allegedly assaulted by Chavez, along with documents of union records, emails, and more.

The UFW has said it will not participate in celebrations of its co-founder planned for later this month due to the allegations, which they called “shocking” and “indefensible.”

Members of Congress are grappling with the allegations and how to support farmworkers while separating Chavez from the movement’s legacy.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement Wednesday that it is committed to renaming streets, post offices, vessels, and holidays that commemorate Chavez, to “instead honor our community and the farmworkers whose struggle defined the movement.”

“Confronting painful truths and ensuring accountability is essential to honoring the very values the greater farm worker movement stands for—values rooted in dignity and justice for all,” Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) said in a statement.

In the wake of the report, cities and states have cancelled, postponed, or renamed celebrations planned for later this month, at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is continuing to target immigrant farmworkers.

In California, the first state to recognize César Chavez Day as a state holiday, lawmakers are considering renaming the celebration. The City of Los Angeles has moved to rename the day to “Farm Workers Day.” (Link to this post.)

The post Congress Responds to César Chavez Sexual Abuse Allegations appeared first on Civil Eats.

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