Courtesy The Guardian
BAKERSFIELD, CA (KUZZ) — Kern County joins the rest of California in celebrating Farmworkers Day.
Until this year, March 31 was known as César Chávez Day, however the day was renamed Farmworkers Day earlier this month following public, documented allegations that Chavez sexually abused young girls and women, including UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, during his time leading the farmworker movement.
Lawmakers unanimously changed the holiday to focus on the broader labor movement, rather than one individual.
The holiday commemorates the historic 1965 Delano Grape Strike and the multi-racial coalition of Filipino-American and Mexican-American workers who fought for fair wages and safe working conditions.
Today, farmworkers are recognized as essential to California’s $60 billion agricultural industry, producing over a third of the nation’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts.
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