Washington governor says state won't celebrate Cesar Chavez following sexual abuse allegations

As new sexual abuse allegations against the civil rights activist Cesar Chavez come to light, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson's office says the state will not recognize the late labor activist later this month.

Washington became one of a handful of states to recognize March 31 — Chavez's birthday — as Cesar Chavez Day starting in 2018. Since then, Cesar Chavez Day has been recognized as a state legal holiday.

But in an emailed statement to KUOW on Wednesday, Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for Ferguson, said that "in light of the shocking allegations," the governor "will not be issuing a proclamation honoring Cesar Chavez Day this year."

RELATED: Cesar Chavez abused and raped women and girls, NYT investigation says

An investigation from The New York Times that published Wednesday morning uncovered allegations that the labor leader sexually abused two women when they were minors. Chavez was in his late 40s.

Now 66, Ana Murguia said she was abused "dozens of times" over four years, starting when she was 13. Another woman, Debra Rojas, told The New York Times she was 12 when Chavez started groping her. At 15, he had sexual intercourse with her.

Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez in the 1960s, also told The New York Times that Chavez abused her, a secret she’s carried for almost six decades.

Huerta later published a statement, saying that as a young mother she experienced "two separate sexual encounters with Cesar [Chavez]." The first time, Huerta said she was "manipulated and pressured into having sex with him." The second time, Huerta was "forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped."

Now 96, Huerta revealed both encounters resulted in pregnancies.

“I buried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work,” Huerta wrote.

Instead of celebrating Cesar Chavez Day, Aho said the governor "looks forward" to celebrating Dolores Huerta Day on April 10.

The future of Cesar Chavez Park comes into question

Other communities across Washington state and the Pacific Northwest are reckoning with Chavez’s legacy.

As a city council member for Sunnyside, an agricultural hub in the Yakima Valley, Vicky Frausto proposed a proclamation in 2024 and 2025 to honor Cesar Chavez Day within the city.

The daughter of two migrant farm workers, Frausto said it’s been important to her to bring “true representation” of farm workers in city governance. She describes the allegations against Chavez as “disheartening.”

“It’s not a secret that many men in the movement have ... participated in harassment, have played into the power dynamics,” Frausto said. “That is a truth that has carried on throughout history and what women have had to endure.”

Now the first Latina to serve as mayor, Frausto said she will not propose a proclamation to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day this year. Instead, she’s considering introducing a proclamation honoring farm workers.

“The essence of this movement are the farm workers, the organizations, the allies, the families, the champions, the advocates,” Frausto said. “That shouldn’t be lost in the struggle that we’re facing now; this truth that has surfaced [about] the harm that one of the leaders of this movement has created.”

Reconsiderations of public displays honoring Cesar Chavez have rippled across the country since the investigation dropped. In Oregon, at least one city council member wants to change the name of Cesar E Chavez Boulevard.

In Seattle, Cesar Chavez Park sits adjacent to Highway 99 in the South Park neighborhood.

In an emailed statement to KUOW, a spokesperson for the Seattle Parks Department said that while the park is managed by the department, the property is owned by King County.

“For parks within SPR’s jurisdiction, we follow our Park Naming Policy,” the spokesperson said. “As this park is located on King County property, SPR will first connect with King County to discuss and thoughtfully consider the park name in partnership with the community.”

A legacy reexamined

While Chavez’s work with the United Farm Workers union was deeply rooted in his home state of California, the union did intersect with the farm labor movements in rural Washington.

As a young lawyer in 1970, Michael Fox, a now retired King County Superior Court Judge, was contacted by farmworkers who had gone on strike in the Yakima Valley. Three years later, Fox received a call from Chavez, offering him a job as the Washington D.C. counsel for the Farm Workers Union.

Fox called the allegations against Chavez “surprising” and “devastating.”

“It’s very disappointing, and I think surprising to me and others who had worked very closely with the union movement over all of those years,” Fox said.

Fox was involved with the union for 16 years, and says he had “about 10” meetings with Chavez in total. He remembers Chavez as a short, taciturn man. His ability to organize in the Mexican American community, develop alliances, and execute boycotts made him “a hero” to many people who worked in the movement, according to Fox.

Fox said he “never” heard anything related to the sexual abuse allegations outlined by the New York Times during his time with the union.

“And if somebody had said something like that ... 30, 40 years ago, I would have just said ‘nonsense,’” Fox said. “The contact that I had with Cesar was consistent with his national reputation — very wise, tactically oriented, and I never saw any hint of such behavior. Of course, I wasn’t with him all the time. I was with him in mostly relatively formal settings.”

Fox believes the “solid” work of farm labor organizers in Washington state like Lupe Gamboa, Roberto and Carlos Trevino, and Jesus Lemos ultimately helped many.

The legacy of the farm labor movement goes beyond Chavez, Fox said.

“I don’t think anything will ever sully that work by those wonderful people,” he said. “But certainly, I have a lot of sadness thinking about these young girls who apparently suffered at the hands of this man who had this tremendous charisma throughout the United States, but specifically within the Mexican American community.”