Labor Unions

Cesar Chavez Accused of Sexual Abuse

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Peter Suderman | 3.19.2026 9:30 AM

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Union activist allegations. Cesar Chavez has been accused of sexual abuse.

Since his passing in 1993, the civil rights activist and labor leader who cofounded United Farm Workers (UFW), has been treated as a hero, with proposed road renamings and an official Cesar Chavez Day celebrated every year. This year's celebration was supposed to have occurred this week, but the UFW canceled the celebrations in light of new allegations accusing him of a years-long pattern of sexual abuse. 

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The abuse is alleged to have started when Chavez was in his 40s. Two women, both now in their 60s, say that he began molesting them when they were still underage. Their allegations feature prominently in an extensive New York Times investigation published Wednesday. The women say that Chavez sexually abused them on dozens of occasions throughout the 1970s. Much of the abuse is said to have happened in his office. 

The Times investigation boasts of "extensive evidence" in support of their accusations. The story also says that "the abuse allegations appear to be part of a larger pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Chavez, much of which has never been publicly revealed." The larger pattern includes a new accusation of sexual assault from a third woman, Dolores Huerta, who the Times calls "his most prominent female ally in the movement." 

A statement from UFW calls the allegations "deeply troubling" and "incompatible"........

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