Newsom says CA may reconsider Cesar Chavez holiday name after abuse allegations

SAN LORENZO, Calif. (KGO) -- Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he is open to reconsidering the name of Cesar Chavez Day in California, as political fallout grows over abuse allegations tied to the late labor icon.

The comments mark one of the clearest signals yet that the state could reconsider how it commemorates Chavez - a figure long central to California's labor and Latino history - just two weeks before the March 31 holiday bearing his name.

Speaking at an unrelated San Lorenzo press conference, Newsom said he is in early talks with California lawmakers about changing the holiday's namesake.

"Look, yeah I'm open. Obviously these are brand new conversations," he told ABC7 when asked whether the state should shift the focus of the holiday away from Chavez himself. "We're just going to have to reflect on all of that. And, you know, reflect on a farm workers movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man and celebrate that. And that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are."

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Newsom also acknowledged the complexity of reevaluating a figure many Californians grew up learning about in schools - with 37 campuses across the state bearing Chavez's name.

The press conference - focused on expanding financial literacy resources for students - quickly shifted as reporters asked Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on the allegations.

Siebel Newsom, who was a key accuser in Harvey Weinstein's 2022 sexual assault trial, became emotional as she spoke about the impact on survivors and on labor leaders close to the administration.

The governor noted he and his wife are "very close" with United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, who revealed Wednesday that she was "manipulated and pressured into having sex" with Chavez in the 1960s.

"It's a lot," Siebel Newsom said. "This war on women isn't new. It goes way, way back, centuries. Enough is enough. So it's got to end."

Report details abuse allegations

According to a New York Times investigation, multiple women allege Chavez abused his position of power within the farmworker movement to exploit young girls and women.

One survivor told the Times she was 12 when Chavez first touched her inappropriately and 15 when he raped her in California. Another said she was repeatedly summoned for sexual encounters over a four-year period beginning when she was 13.

The investigation alleges Chavez used his influence over workers and volunteers for his own sexual gratification.

"The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn't feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to," Huerta said. "The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped."

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Huerta, now 95, said both encounters resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret for decades.

The reporting has prompted broader calls to reassess Chavez's legacy in public spaces. Advocacy group California Rising is urging the renaming of Cesar Chavez Avenue to Dolores Huerta Avenue, calling it a "course correction" that centers dignity and equity.

Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez in 1962, helping secure the first farmworker union contracts in U.S. history. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Chavez died in 1993 at the age of 66.