For the record:
9:08 p.m. March 17, 2026: An earlier version of this article referred to Eric Olvera. His first name is Erik.

The United Farm Workers said it would not participate in celebrations of its founder Cesar Chavez amid what the labor union described as "troubling allegations" against the iconic Chicano figure.

The union, in a statement released Tuesday, did not detail the accusations against Chavez but said they were concerning enough for the organization to take action. But several events around the country honoring Chavez including events in Tucson, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and San Bernardino have been canceled in recent weeks, with little explanation given by organizers.

The claims against Chavez "are incompatible with our organization’s values. Some of the reports are family issues, and not our story to tell or our place to comment on. Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors. Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing. We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations," the union said.
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Cesar Chavez abuse allegations
Dolores Huerta publicly alleged sexual abuse by Cesar Chavez, prompting the United Farm Workers and local groups to withdraw from planned events. Farmworker advocates expressed shock as schools and cities reevaluated how to mark the holiday.
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Cesar Chavez Day events canceled following sexual abuse allegations

Read more: Arellano: Woke California pays homage this week to another American hero with a complex legacy

Canceling events, the union said, would "provide space for people who may have been victimized to find support and to share their stories if that is what they choose."

Chavez is a towering national figure credited with organizing and raising the lives of migrant farmworkers in California and beyond and giving voice to the struggles of Mexican Americans.

Bursting into national prominence in the mid-1960s in the San Joaquin Valley, Chavez galvanized public support on behalf of them after organizing community groups across Central and Southern California. For decades, agricultural laborers had lived in substandard housing and were paid terrible wages. Efforts to organize migrant laborers were usually crushed violently by farmers and local law enforcement.

Chavez and his associates joined a grape pickers' strike in 1965 launched by Filipino organizers centered around Delano, the heart of California's table grape crop. Those early years were marked by bitter and sometimes brutal incidents involving picketing farmworkers who screamed “Huelga!" — “Strike!”—and growers who vowed never to give in to Chavez and his movement.
Sen. Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez as Chavez ended a 25-day fast.
Sen. Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez as Chavez ended a 25-day fast. (Bettmann Archive)

That eventually transformed into a boycott that earned international attention. Chavez, drawing on his Catholic faith, fasted for 25 days in 1968 to draw attention to the violence swirling around the effort, ending it by sharing bread with then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Two years later, the UFW was able to secure contracts for more than 10,000 grape pickers.

Read more: 'The Crusades of Cesar Chavez' is a frank look at an imperfect leader

Those successes made Chavez an almost mythic figure. The UFW flag — a stylized black Aztec eagle against a red background — became synonymous with the Chicano movement that was emerging at the same time. Posters and murals featuring Chavez's beatific face sprouted in the Southwest and beyond. He traveled across the United States espousing his philosophy of nonviolence, union and dignity for farmworkers.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/troubling-allegations-against-cesar-chavez-170857195.html