California lawmakers announced Thursday that they intend to change the name of Cesar Chavez Day to “Farmworkers Day” in the wake of devastating accusations of sexual abuse by Chavez, an iconic labor leader who has been celebrated for decades in the state.

Twelve days before the annual March 31 state holiday, leaders of the California Assembly and state Senate said they were introducing a bill to make that change. It came as elected officials across the Southwest were grappling with how to respond to a New York Times investigation that detailed how Chavez groomed and sexually abused two girls and raped Dolores Huerta, his most prominent farm labor ally.

“This moment calls for honesty, it calls for reflection, and it calls for a renewed commitment to the values that the farmworker movement was built on,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in an emotional floor speech Thursday, recalling his grandfather’s history in the union that fought to improve pay and conditions for farmworkers.

Monique Limón, leader of the California Senate, said that lawmakers were examining how to update other parts of state law, because the Cesar Chavez holiday is mentioned in a dozen different provisions, including educational requirements.

“We will move swiftly to make the changes,” she said in an interview.

Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers and died in 1993 at age 66, has been hailed as a civil rights champion for decades. His status only seemed to build over time as governments and schools hailed him as a hero, holding celebrations and teaching lessons every March grounded in farmworker history and the fight for Latino equality in the United States.

So shocking were the revelations, however, that many state and local leaders raced Wednesday to distance themselves from Chavez. The governors of Texas and Arizona almost immediately moved to cancel state observances of Cesar Chavez Day on March 31.

Los Angeles Mayor Signs Proclamation

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, joined by women serving on the City Council, signed a proclamation Thursday to erase Chavez’s name and rename the holiday “Farm Workers Day” in the city, the mayor’s office said.

Los Angeles leaders also planned to move the annual holiday to the last Monday each March, untethering it from Chavez’s birthday. The California Legislature is keeping the holiday on March 31 for this year while lawmakers consider other possibilities for future years.

In Dallas, City Council members are seeking a different change: renaming the holiday “Dolores Huerta Day” and moving it to April 10, her birthday.

The clock is ticking, given that Cesar Chavez Day is in less than two weeks. Many elected officials said Wednesday they needed time to deliberate, saying they were still processing the allegations while they condemned the sexual abuse detailed in the Times investigation.

That included Gov. Gavin Newsom, a longtime friend of Huerta’s. During a news conference to discuss financial literacy at a Bay Area school library, Newsom said he would discuss with state legislators whether to rename the state holiday that had been observed since 2000, when California became the first state to recognize it as a paid day off.

“None of us knew,” Newsom said. “We need to reflect.”

Chavez was born to Mexican immigrants in 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, and later worked as a farm laborer in the Central Valley of California with his family. With two other activists, Huerta and Gilbert Padilla, he created the National Farm Workers Association, which later merged with another union to form the United Farm Workers. The workers drew national attention when they marched hundreds of miles to Sacramento to secure union recognition and higher wages.

In the decades since Chavez died, his status as a labor hero and Latino icon grew to outsize proportions, especially across the Southwest. His name and likeness have been attached to numerous streets, schools and parks nationwide. No state has recognized him more deeply than California, where nearly 50 schools are named for him, according to the state’s Department of Education.

While governments are likely to act soon to recast the upcoming Cesar Chavez holiday, renaming buildings, schools and programs could take months, if not years.

At the University of California, Berkeley, where the student center has celebrated Chavez since 1997, a committee of community members must first agree to rechristen a building. Then, the public needs an opportunity to provide feedback, followed by a recommendation to the school’s chancellor. Ultimately, the president of the UC system has the final say.

A University of California spokesperson, Rachel Zaentz, said the 10-campus UC system was “deeply concerned about these troubling reports.” She added, “We stand firmly with survivors and are evaluating these findings internally. We will communicate updates when appropriate.”

Fresno State Covers Statue

Other schools moved quickly to do what they could within their immediate control. At Fresno State University, a statue of Chavez was covered up, and the university’s president, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, said officials would “determine appropriate next steps for its removal.”

In Los Angeles County, Hilda Solis, the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and a former Obama administration official, said Wednesday that she planned to ask her colleagues to explore renaming the holiday and to start a process for renaming parks, monuments and streets. She also wants to remove Chavez’s image from public artwork.

“Our responsibility is to center survivors, demand accountability and ensure that our public recognitions reflect our shared values,” said Solis, a close friend of Huerta’s.

In Sacramento, Mayor Kevin McCarty said he had begun the process of renaming Cesar Chavez Plaza, which sits across the street from City Hall. Elsewhere in the city, the California Museum board of trustees Wednesday began the process of removing Chavez from the California Hall of Fame, where he had been enshrined in 2006 as part of the inaugural class.

The announcement came the night before Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, planned to induct the 19th Hall of Fame class Thursday. Museum officials pointed out that Huerta remains a member of the seventh class, and Larry Itliong, a Filipino American labor organizer, is a member of the 14th class.

Before the Times investigation was published, the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the UFW released statements Tuesday acknowledging the abuse allegations. Foundation officials said they were “deeply shocked and saddened” and working to support those who may have been harmed.

The UFW said the organizations had established a channel “for those who wish to share their experiences of harm, to identify their current impacts and needs, and, if desired, to participate in a collective process to develop mechanisms for repair and accountability.”

The allegations could have legal and financial implications for the union.

Under California law, survivors of sexual abuse can file lawsuits until age 40 or within five years of discovering an emotional injury linked to the abuse. If the sexual abuse occurred after the survivor turned 18, a new state law now allows sex assault claims to be filed through Dec. 31, 2027. If the survivor was facing a physical or emotional threat, the statute of limitations must be paused until the threat goes away.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Laurel Rosenhall, Shawn Hubler and Pooja Salhotra
c. 2026 The New York Times Company