Wednesday, March 25, 2026

L.A. County Moves to Remove Chávez Name From Holiday, Facilities

FROM CITY NEWS SERVICE

Following allegations that labor leader César Chávez sexually abused multiple women, including United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to rename the upcoming Chávez holiday as Farm Workers Day and begin work to remove his name from buildings and other facilities.

The move follows similar actions being taken at the state level and by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who signed an executive order last week renaming the city’s César Chávez holiday as Farm Workers Day.

The county Board of Supervisors approved a motion by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn calling for the county to rename the holiday, which is observed on Chávez’s birthday, March 31. The motion also directs county leaders to remove “the name and likeness of César Chávez from all county holiday-related events, communications and materials,” and to update existing materials accordingly. It further states that any events connected to the holiday should proceed with themes centered on farmworker justice, labor rights and community service.

“The abuses of one man should not diminish the extraordinary sacrifices and accomplishments of the farm worker movement, and renaming this holiday acknowledges that,” Hahn said. “This past week has been heartbreaking for so many people on so many levels — for communities, for people who have admired one man and admired the movement.

“But one of the things I think it brought to light is that like many civil rights movements, men were only half the story. And yet it’s usually the men who have remained in the spotlight, who have had the things named after them. Yet we know for a fact women were at the core of all of our great civil rights movements.”

The Board of Supervisors also approved a separate motion calling on its chief executive officer and county counsel to develop a community-driven process for renaming parks, streets, county facilities, real property, monuments and other county programs that bear Chávez’s name, including the removal of related imagery in civic artworks. A written report is due back within 21 days.

The motion, brought by Solis and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, states that the county “is deeply shaken” by the abuse allegations, which were detailed in a report published last week by The New York Times.

“These allegations are grave and painful, demanding a thorough, transparent, and trauma-informed response,” the motion states. “Survivors must be believed, supported, and treated with dignity, and they must never again feel that their voices are secondary to any movement or individual.

“The county also recognizes and uplifts the critical role of Dolores Huerta and the countless women whose leadership, vision, and resilience have shaped the labor movement and advanced justice for generations of workers. The farmworker movement is far greater than any one individual.”

Solis said it was important for the county to conduct a community-driven process for renaming facilities to ensure diverse voices are included.

“This has been an extremely difficult time for many in our communities, including for me personally,” Solis said. “I believe it is critical that we work to honor history accurately. The farm worker movement was built by generations of workers — men and women and youth — who labored, organized and sacrificed and transformed working conditions and expanded workers’ rights nationwide.”

The New York Times reported that multiple women accused Chávez of sexual abuse. One woman told the newspaper Chávez took her into his office when he was 45 and she was 13, kissed her and pulled down her pants. She said dozens of sexual encounters followed over the next four years, though she said none involved intercourse.

Another woman said she was 12 when Chávez groped her, and 15 when he arranged for her to stay at a motel during a march through California, where she said he had sexual intercourse with her.

Both women were daughters of organizers who had participated in marches alongside Chávez, according to the report, which also alleged Chávez engaged in sexual relationships with other women in the farm labor movement.

Huerta, who will turn 96 on April 10, told the newspaper Chávez drove her to a secluded grape field in Delano in 1966 and raped her in a vehicle. She said she did not report the incident at the time due to concerns about police hostility toward Chávez and the labor movement, and fear that she would not be believed.

In a statement last week, Huerta confirmed she had two sexual encounters with Chávez — one in which she said she was “manipulated and pressured into having sex with him,” and another in which she said she “was forced against my will.”

“I had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret,” Huerta said. “Both sexual encounters with César led to pregnancies. I chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.”