Editor’s Note: The following article was written by Tribuno Editors Laura Cortez Garcia and Gloria Meneses-Sandoval in response to The New York Times‘ article exposing Chavez’s heinous acts.
The dust seems to have settled around the accusations of rape, child grooming and sex abuse by Cesar Chavez. Yet, the shock of Chavez’s betrayal still lingers within U.S. workers, especially Mexican American workers and Chicanas/os who fought hard with their Filipino counterparts to build the UFW in the 1960s and 1970s.
People quickly realized that we live in a patriarchal society characterized by machismo, and misogyny. Such an ideology has predominantly ruled the lives of societies from slavery to modern day capitalism. So it didn’t seem surprising or shocking to many in the movement.
Many of us come from families where the father is the ‘boss’ and the rest of the family members obey. Sadly, we know it is the norm in our society — from the bottom up and from the top to the bottom.
For example, President Trump is facing the same allegations as Cesar Chavez — and much worse— that’s why Trump doesn’t want the Epstein files disclosed. Recently, Eric Swalwell the California runner-up, and now withdrawn candidate for governor, is facing the same accusations of rape and sex abuse by former staff members.
Some Chicanas/os might have felt Cesar Chavez’ betrayal a little bit deeper. Some of them had left college to volunteer for the UFW at $5 a week. For those with deep religious beliefs, what hurt the most was the use of the Virgen de Guadalupe to recruit to the struggle, only to abuse young ladies.
The generation of Chicanas/os of the 1960s and 1970s were radicalized by organizing for a farm workers’ union. Our parents still labored in the fields and many of us even worked the fields during holidays and summer vacations. Our awakening was the national liberation movements in Latin America, South Africa and other parts of the world during the 1960s and the 1970s.
While in Latin America the youth fought against direct colonialism and national liberation from U.S. imperialism. Here in the U.S., the fight translated into a fight for the civil rights of Blacks, Chicanas/os, and Native Americans. The youth of the U.S. were politicized and radicalized by the oppression they suffered as people of color. More specifically by the Vietnam War and the draft. Blacks, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, and all people of color were disproportionately drafted into the war in higher numbers than whites.
“Peace not War! Black Power! Brown Power! Red Power!” resonated in the streets and on university campuses all over the country.
And the women did not stay behind. Their voices were at the core of the struggle for change, peace, justice and equal and civil rights.
Fast forward to today, one main lesson we revolutionaries are grappling with is getting rid of the singular hero or heroine worship. No single individual builds a union. It is a movement of people who have a vision on how to uplift those around them, and who organize to achieve that vision.
Why expose Chavez now as a rapist and pedophile?
The New York Times had been investigating these allegations against Chavez for five years. The same week that accusations of rape and sex abuse were raised against Chavez, the Trump administration introduced a proposal to decrease wages for H2A Visa farm workers which in turn would decrease all farmworkers’ wages. The timing was perfect whether by design or not. Was it coincidence or was it the political art of distracting playing out?
The UFW is fighting against this ruling in the courts, arguing the change would depress pay to all agricultural employees, including citizens.The nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute has estimated the minimum wage for many farmworkers would fall to $13.70 an hour
Last year the average minimum wage for farmworkers was $17.43: only 53 cents more than California’s minimum wage ($16.90). Farmworkers are the lowest paid workers with the worst working conditions. Our government only wants more profits for agribusiness.
Today farmworkers are dealing with a totally new situation. People working in agriculture are decreasing as a result of agricultural automation. For example, from 1950 to the 1990s, the number of people involved directly in farm work decreased by more than 70%.2.
Unfortunately, farmworkers are not alone. Automation is reducing the labor force by the millions. A new report by Oxford Economics estimates about 20% of U.S. jobs are highly vulnerable to robots and automation over the next two decades. The report notes that such tech already exists and is commercially available.
But U.S. workers are fighting back and organizing for unions to represent them. Amazon and Starbucks workers are leading this push but many other workers in diverse sectors are also following their lead. While total union membership fell to an all-time low of 10% in 2024, the momentum broke its downward trajectory in 2025. In 2025, U.S. union representation increased by 463,000 workers to reach 16.5 million total unionized employees—the highest raw number in 16 years.
With respect to the abuse of women–misogyny, rape, and abuse—women are also fighting back. The “Me Too” movement catapulted the call for accountability and calls for justice continues today with the fight to fully disclose the Epstein files.
With respect to Chavez’s accusations, we solidly start by standing up with the women who are making these accusations: Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas. We call for the release of the Epstein files and prosecute all predators for their crimes!
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