Power and Abuse in the United Farm Workers
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Allegations have surfaced that Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers, sexually abused young girls at the union's headquarters in California. The abuse was allegedly enabled by a culture of organizational control and silence within the UFW.
Cesar Chavez, the revered leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW), is accused of sexually abusing young girls at the union's La Paz headquarters in California. Two women, Ana Murgia and Debra Rojas, have come forward with allegations that they were molested and raped by Chavez in the mid-1970s. The abuse occurred in plain sight of UFW staff and volunteers, who failed to question or object to Chavez's actions. The UFW had been viewed as a moral vanguard of the farmworker struggle, achieving historic labor contracts and improving working conditions. However, the allegations have forced a reckoning with the darker aspects of the union's history. The women's stories, published in the New York Times in March 2026, have shocked the world and raised questions about the culture of silence and control within the UFW.
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