César Chavez Allegations

PHOENIX (AP) — Mary Rose Wilcox and her husband marched and fasted alongside César Chavez. T…

Dolores Huerta and the late César Chavez are both credited with leading a movement that got growers to negotiate for better wages and working conditions for farm workers. Their legacies as United Farm Workers of American co-founders and leaders are now getting new attention after allegations emerged that Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including Huerta. Cornell University labor history professor Paul Ortiz says the movement's rise is one of the most important events in U.S. history and is the most important event in U.S. Latino history. He says agricultural workers had tried to organize for centuries but almost every effort failed until the success of United Farm Workers.

Dolores Huerta has dedicated her life to breaking down barriers and cemented her place in history as one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders, civil rights icons and feminist activists. Now she has shocked the world by revealing that she was among the women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez while he led the United Farm Workers union. Huerta says she was fearful of speaking out because she didn’t want the movement to be tarnished. While Chavez and Huerta's names were once inseparable, elected leaders and community members are initiating efforts to rename some buildings, schools and streets after Huerta alone.