California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday that will rename the state holiday honoring César Chavez from “César Chavez Day” to “Farmworkers Day,” with the change arriving just days before March 31. Newsom signed the bill as the state legislature moved quickly to adjust how Chavez is remembered amid new allegations of sexual abuse that have circulated publicly since last week.
The bill cleared the California Senate earlier Thursday with bipartisan support, and it also passed the Assembly on Monday with bipartisan backing, according to state officials involved in the vote process. The legislation reframes the holiday’s emphasis toward farmworkers and the labor movement’s broader legacy, rather than using Chavez’s name as the central memorial figure.
The shift follows reports that alleged Chavez sexually abused girls and women during the period when he helped build a major farmworker labor rights movement in California’s agricultural heartland. The allegations, which became public last week, include accusations from Dolores Huerta, who co-led the movement that later became the United Farm Workers, AP reported.
Supporters of the change argued that the decision should not be limited to a single person or a single storyline. Republican Sen. Suzette Valladares said Thursday that her family built a life in California through farm work and that the labor movement brought together workers from different backgrounds. She said, “This is not about one person. This is not about one narrative,” and added, “It’s about honoring generations of sacrifice, of resilience and hope.”
Other lawmakers focused on what they said the holiday can mean in the present moment. Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limon said honoring farmworkers is especially important as California faces federal enforcement actions that have affected the state’s agriculture sector, and she referenced the death of a worker in her district after being chased by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent last summer. “His death is a reminder of how much farmworkers risk every day to put food on our table,” Limon said before the Senate vote. “Our farmworkers remind us that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
California first designated Chavez’s March 31 birthday as a state holiday nearly 30 years ago. Later, in 2000, the Legislature passed a bill that made the day an official paid time off for state employees and required students to learn about Chavez’s legacy and his role in the labor movement. The legislation passed Thursday, however, did not address the curriculum requirement, and state leaders said they were discussing lesson-plan adjustments with school officials.
State leaders also described the vote as part of a wider wave of efforts to reconsider public memorials honoring Chavez. Since the allegations became public, California State University, Fresno, has covered up a statue of Chavez on campus, and cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento have taken steps to remove his name from public landmarks.
Beyond California, local organizers in some places have already rebranded events tied to March 31. In Tucson last weekend, organizers scaled back and rebranded the annual César Chavez and Dolores Huerta March and Rally, according to AP, calling the event instead the Comunidad y Labor Unity Fair and focusing it more broadly on labor rights without mentioning Chavez. In Grand Junction, Colorado, organizers said they had printed flyers and T-shirts bearing Chavez’s name but planned to hold the event Saturday under the Sí, Se Puede Celebration branding instead. In El Paso, Texas, March 31 is set to be celebrated as the Community and Labor Heritage Day.
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who spoke before the Monday Assembly vote, argued against continuing to celebrate a single person when, she said, the labor movement itself is larger. “We cannot ignore wrongdoing and we should not continue to celebrate a single person when the movement itself is so much bigger,” she said before the vote. The legislation signed Thursday retains the date and public recognition of a day for farmworkers while replacing Chavez’s name as the centerpiece of the state holiday, AP reported, with writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributing from Albuquerque, New Mexico.