United Farm Workers will not be collaborating in annual celebratory occasions this month of its co-founder Cesar Chavez over what it calls serious allegations, which the union couldn’t specify.
The actions have been scheduled for Cesar Chavez Day, a state vacation in California noticed on March 31, however the farm staff’ union stated it received’t participate after studying of “deeply troubling allegations” that exposed Chavez “behaved in ways that are incompatible with our organization’s values.”
“We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations,” United Farm Workers stated in an announcement, including a number of the experiences are “not our story to tell or our place to comment on.”
NCS has not seen the precise allegations or spoken to any alleged victims. United Farm Workers declined to offer any further data past its issued assertion when contacted by NCS.
The Cesar Chavez Foundation stated it’s “deeply shocked and saddened” by the “disturbing allegations” that got here to gentle. The basis is “working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations” and help individuals who might have been harmed, it stated.
Chavez, a Mexican-American farm labor chief who died in 1993, introduced consideration to the troublesome situations farm staff confronted. Along with Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 earlier than it later turned the United Farm Workers of America — a company dedicated to defending the rights of farmhands and discipline staff throughout the nation.
His work fought for truthful wages, humane remedy and safer working situations for California’s farm staff by way of nonviolent marches, boycotts and fasts.
Chavez believed in nonviolent resistance and went on his first starvation strike, which lasted 25 days, in 1968 to protest violence and inhumane situations staff endured, in keeping with the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Former President Barack Obama decreed March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day and honored him with a nationwide monument in Keene, California, the place Chavez was buried and a few of his household nonetheless resides.
The Dolores Huerta Foundation declined to offer NCS with an announcement on the reported allegations.
Instead of collaborating on this 12 months’s occasions, the United Farm Workers is asking on its allies and supporters to happen in “Immigration justice events and acts of service to support farmworkers,” it stated.
The union and the Cesar Chavez Foundation stated they’re establishing a confidential channel for individuals who wish to share any dangerous experiences, in addition to a course of to implement accountability measures.
Juan Jose Gutierrez, govt director of the Full Rights for Immigrant Coalition who collaborated with Chavez in offering authorized assist for agricultural staff, stated he felt “utter disappointment” over the announcement.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow because I mean, Cesar Chavez is an icon,” he advised NCS. “Children, even now, know about Cesar Chavez and many generations before him were inspired by him… He’s revered and admired in the community.”
As somebody who knew him and labored with him, Gutierrez stated the information is surprising. “… I still can’t recover,” he stated, whereas acknowledging the extent of the allegations continues to be unclear.
Chavez has been a “beloved hero of our community” who Gutierrez admired, he stated. But if the serious allegations have been confirmed credible, it could be a “blow to his legacy,” regardless of how a lot time has handed since his demise.