Courtesy PBS
(Inside California Politics) — The California Legislature is working this week to rename Cesar Chavez Day following allegations of rape and sexual abuse against the formerly celebrated labor leader.
On Monday, the Assembly voted 68-0 to rename the March 31 holiday to Farmworkers Day. The bill was introduced by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón — and, in a unique show of bipartisan agreement, co-authored by every member of both chambers.
“The farmworker movement — it was never about one person,” Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, said before the vote. “It was built on a collective sacrifice of many.”
Read more: Top lawmakers announce plan to rename Cesar Chavez Day
The bill isn’t just about a date on the calendar or a name on a building, Asm. Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, said Monday. To Macedo, honoring the farmworker movement is not a policy debate — it’s a family history.
“It is about the hands that feed this nation,” she said. “It is about the men and women that are out in the orchards and the fields before the sun even touches the horizon and who are still there long after it sets.”
Although he didn’t oppose the bill, Asm. Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, said it was a rushed attempt to remove Chavez from California history.
“Let’s airbrush Cesar Chavez out, and maybe people won’t notice that we’ve used him, for so many years, conveniently,” he said.
The new holiday will be on March 31 — the same day Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated for the past few decades, Chavez’s birthday.
Last week, the New York Times published a report that detailed accusations — including from civil rights leader and activist Dolores Huerta — of rape and sexual assault by Chavez.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Thursday, allowing Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign it into law before the holiday next week. Because Assembly Bill 2156 includes an urgency clause, it will take effect immediately upon signing.
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