United Farm Workers union cancels Cesar Chavez celebrations over what it calls serious allegations

By Emma Tucker, Norma Galeana, CNN

(CNN) — United Farm Workers is not participating in annual celebratory events this month of its co-founder Cesar Chavez over what it calls serious allegations, which the union could not specify.

The activities were scheduled for Cesar Chavez Day, commemorating the late labor leader and observed on March 31, his birthday. But the farm workers’ union said it won’t take part after learning of “deeply troubling allegations” that revealed 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 said in a statement, adding some of the reports are “not our story to tell or our place to comment on.”

CNN has not seen the specific allegations or spoken to any alleged victims. United Farm Workers declined to provide any additional information beyond its issued statement when contacted by CNN.

The Cesar Chavez Foundation said it’s “deeply shocked and saddened” by the “disturbing allegations” that came to light. The foundation is “working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations” and support people who may have been harmed, it said.

Several celebrations set to be held in Texas, California, Michigan, and Arizona, Chavez’s home state, have reportedly been canceled.

Born near Yuma, Arizona, in 1927, the Mexican-American labor leader was raised working on California farms, where “he was exposed to the hardships and injustices of farm worker life,” according to the foundation.

He rose to notoriety as a community organizer in California, co-founding a Latino civil rights group before turning his focus to the difficult conditions farm workers faced. He died in 1993.

Along with Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 before it later became the United Farm Workers of America — an organization devoted to defending the rights of farmhands and field workers across the country.

His work fought for fair wages, humane treatment and safer working conditions for California’s farm workers through nonviolent marches, boycotts and fasts.

Chavez believed in nonviolent resistance and went on his first hunger strike, which lasted 25 days, in 1968 to protest violence and inhumane conditions workers endured, according to the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Following his death, California established a state holiday in his honor in 1995. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama later decreed March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day and honored him with a national monument in Keene, California, where Chavez was buried and some of his family still resides.

The Dolores Huerta Foundation declined to provide CNN with a statement on the reported allegations.

Instead of participating in this year’s events, the United Farm Workers is calling on its allies and supporters to take place in “Immigration justice events and acts of service to support farmworkers,” it said.

The union and the Cesar Chavez Foundation said they are setting up a confidential channel for those who want to share any harmful experiences, as well as a process to implement accountability measures.

In light of the accusations, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said the state would not recognize the commemorative holiday, according to CNN affiliate KTVK. CNN has reached out to the governor’s office.

Events have also been canceled in Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi, Texas, CNN affiliate KTVT reported. The city of Lansing, Michigan, said it had also canceled an upcoming dinner in his honor.

Juan Jose Gutierrez, executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrant Coalition who collaborated with Chavez in providing legal help for agricultural workers, said he felt “utter disappointment” over the announcement.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow because I mean, Cesar Chavez is an icon,” he told CNN. “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 someone who knew him and worked with him, Gutierrez said the news is shocking. “I still can’t recover,” he said, while acknowledging the extent of the allegations is still unclear.

Chavez has been a “beloved hero of our community” who Gutierrez admired, he said. But if the serious allegations were proven credible, it would be a “blow to his legacy,” no matter how much time has passed since his death.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Alex Stambaugh contributed to this report.