Santa Clara County officials today singled out labor leader Dolores Huerta, honoring her on the renamed Farmworkers Day for “bravery and leadership” in her work as a co-founder and activist for the farmworkers labor organizations in California.
In Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation that honored the state’s farmworkers, who he said “contribute far more than their labor – from landmark social movements to food, music, and art, this community is foundational to the prosperity and vitality of California as we know it.”
March 31 had for years been a state holiday honoring Cesar Chávez, until revelations of sexual abuse by Chávez earlier this month prompted cancellation of many events and the renaming of others. Leaders in San Jose and Santa Clara, as well as others across California and Texas, canceled March 31 events and began taking steps to rename schools, buildings and streets in light of the allegations.
Santa Clara County officials said that while continuing to recognize March 31 as an official holiday this year, it would use the day to honor the farmworker labor movement and Huerta rather than Chávez.
In San Francisco, officials announced that the April 11 2026 San Francisco event previously known as the Chavez Day Parade was renamed the Dolores Huerta Parade and Festival.
“The farmworker movement was, and is, a collective movement, bigger than any one person,” said the governor. “Farmworkers were willing to put their lives and their livelihoods on the line to fight for the right to a fair, just, and dignified job. Their efforts to secure better working and living conditions, the right to organize for fair pay, and other protections contributed to the broader civil rights and labor movements, inspiring generations of new leaders and building a legacy of advocacy that continues to this day.”
Huerta, who lives in Delano, announced announced shocking revelations that she was the victim of sexual abuse in the 1960s by Chavez, with whom she co-founded what became the United Farm Workers union, after the New York Times on published the results of an investigation of allegations of decades of sexual abuse by Chávez.
In his proclamation today, Newsom said “Farmworkers are the backbone of California… home to over one-third of all farmworkers in the United States – and they feed the nation: as the largest agricultural state, California produces one-third of the nation’s vegetables, and nearly two-thirds of its fruits and nuts.’
Santa Clara County’s statement today said: “We are committed to uplifting the dignity of all workers and celebrating the many contributions of our Latino/a and immigrant communities. It is a day to recognize the broader movement for justice, dignity, and the rights of farmworkers and working people everywhere.”
