Mayor Bass signs proclamation to rename César Chavez Day amid sexual abuse allegations
Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation on Thursday, March 19, 2026 to rename the last Monday of March “Farm Workers Day” in the city of Los Angeles. (KTLA)
by: Jocelyn Fiset
Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation on Thursday to rename the last Monday of March “Farm Workers Day” in the city of Los Angeles.
“This is a very difficult day,” Bass acknowledged at the beginning of a news conference announcing the change.
It comes after bombshell sexual abuse allegations surfaced against César Chavez, the long-admired leader of the movement for farmworkers’ labor rights.
The stunning allegations against Chavez, which were brought to light this week in a New York Times report more than three decades after his death, claim the labor rights icon sexually assaulted and abused women and young girls.
Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta also released a statement Wednesday saying that Chavez sexually assaulted her and fathered two of her children.
Bass said she’s been in touch with the Chavez family, and they support the decision to rename the holiday that honored the legacy of César Chavez.
“This is not a celebration. This is a change that is fundamental,” Bass said after signing the proclamation. “Moving forward, this is about honoring the men and women and children who toil every day in our fields and we will honor them.”
This effort by the city of Los Angeles is among many currently underway to rename landmarks, statues and streets honoring Chavez.
“The plight and the struggle of the farmworkers continues on, and we will honor that. But we are going to have to take a look at a variety of things, including the naming of holidays, of buildings, of streets… all of that,” Bass said.
Council woman Monica Rodriguez also spoke during the press conference. “Many of our communities, many of our families, know the struggle and the fight for the respect and the dignity of the work that they offer in this country every day. To feed the people of this country, every day. This fight and this moment was more than just about one man. It was about a community and several communities that were equally committed in seeking the respect that they deserve.”
“We are all hurting right now,” Rodriguez said. “We feel the pain, we feel the pain of the victims and those of us inspired by this movement. But the movement has not expired. The movement continues and our fight for justice continues and it will be exemplified with every act and action that we take here in this city and every other city across the state.”
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