“We do not condone the actions of Cesar Chavez” – CalMatters

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United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero said the rape allegations against the late union leader Cesar Chavez were “very hard to hear” and something the organization did not expect.

Chavez is widely recognized as one of the most influential labor leaders in American history, known for founding the United Farm Workers (UFW) union and leading national boycotts to improve working conditions for farmworkers.

on Wednesday, The New York Times published investigation, which names three women who accuse Chávez of sexually abusing them, taking advantage of his position of power. Two of them were daughters of union leaders. They told the Times they were abused as children.

The allegations, some of which had been circulating as rumors for years, immediately sparked a backlash and widespread protest. Dozens of California leaders from local school board members to state legislators, called for his name to be removed from parks, schools, streets, libraries and community events. The UFW has announced that it will not participate in events bearing the name of the organization’s former leader.

In an interview with CalMatters, Romero urged the public to respect the women who have dared to speak out and give them “the space they deserve to process this.”

“We do not condone the actions of Cesar Chavez,” Romero said. “It’s wrong.”

Even as the allegations came to light, the union remained embroiled in a bitter legal battle over farmworker wages.

Romero made the remarks outside a Fresno courtroom after a judge heard arguments in the case that highlighted the agriculture sector’s dependence on immigrant labor. The Trump administration is proposing to address farm labor shortages by making it cheaper to hire temporary foreign workers.

The UFW is suing the Trump administration over its plan to lower the minimum wage for the H-2A agricultural visa program, a change that would reduce the take-home pay of many California farmers. This program allows American employers to hire temporary workers from abroad, primarily from Mexico, for agricultural positions that cannot be filled by domestic workers.

In addition to two women who claimed to have been raped as children, the other woman who broke her long silence about abuse was Chávez’s partner in the labor movement, Dolores Huerta.

Huerta, 96, co-founded the farmworkers union with Chavez. She told the Times that Chavez raped her and that she gave birth to two children after dating him.

Romero said the union is exploring ways to ensure victims can safely and independently report their cases.

“We learn from it,” Romero said. “We’re going to try to create a system where any victim or anyone who wants to talk about it can do so in a safe place, not necessarily talking to us directly, but to an independent organization that has been working with victims of sexual abuse for years.”

Romero, the first Latina woman to lead the United Farm Workers union, has led the organization since 2018.

“We are here to respect them and understand that this is very difficult for them,” he said.