Chavez Day confusion: What Californians are actually celebrating today

Cesar Chavez Day — a big day for the labor movement — is now being reckoned with under the newly renamed “Farmworkers Day” following revelations of a disgraced leader’s sex scandal.

March 31 will continue to be celebrated among the working class, but under a new banner after a New York Times investigation earlier this month revealed allegations that the namesake of the labor movement sexually assaulted and raped minor girls and women, including activist Dolores Huerta, who had two of Chavez’s children.

Since then, it’s not just his name facing scrutiny.

Following severe sexual abuse allegations, numerous schools, parks, and landmarks dedicated to Cesar Chavez are being renamed or removed nationwide. Major actions include LAUSD voting to rename schools, the Texas Education Agency ordering the removal of mentions in school curriculum, and statues being taken down in cities like San Fernando and Denver.

California originally designated March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as a state holiday in 2000, and it became a federal holiday in 2014.

Amid all this, people within the movement believe the name change finally and properly recognizes the individuals who truly deserve acknowledgment.

“Those people worked tirelessly, even during the 1960s and 1970s — it’s been that way the whole time,” Nisei Farmers League President Manuel Cunha told ABC30. “There was never any recognition for them. Their contributions were overlooked, and the focus remained solely on Cesar Chavez.”

Looking ahead, Cunha says the name change should be more than symbolic — it should help drive real policy conversations in Washington. He is urging lawmakers to take another look at the Dignity Act, a proposal introduced in 2025 that could reshape how the country approaches immigration and farm labor.

“Give these people now what they deserve — the dignity and respect of giving them a legal work card,” he said.

The legislation is a bipartisan effort focused on strengthening border enforcement while also offering undocumented immigrants a chance to earn legal status through work and long-term contributions.

“Those people deserve it. They should not have to wake up every morning wondering if, while driving to work — to a construction site or the fields — they might get arrested and not see their family that night,” Cunha added.

If revived, the Dignity Act could provide agricultural workers and others with a structured pathway to legal authorization, allowing them to continue working without fear of sudden detention while contributing more fully to the economy.

Local leaders continue to center what was once Cesar Chavez Day on a movement, not a person.

“This celebration — we continue to celebrate the farmworker struggle. We continue to recognize the dignity of farmworkers and our families, because without us, the country does not eat,” said Rey León, mayor of Huron, a predominantly agricultural city. “We need to invest in farmworkers and the families that make it possible for our county to be a number one agricultural revenue county in the world,” he added.

That sentiment is shared not just in one city, but across the state, even country.

“The farmworker movement was never about one individual, and we will continue to find ways to honor farmworker struggles and the labor movement,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said.

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