Dolores Huerta alleges sexual assault by Cesar Chavez
Labor activist Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers Cesar ChavezHe said Wednesday that he was “manipulated and pressured into having sex with her.”
Huerta’s statement to ABC News came in response to a question New York Times article over allegations that Chavez, the late farmworker organizer who became a national civil rights icon, abused women and minors.
“I can no longer remain silent and I must share my own experiences,” Huerta said.
The labor activist said he broke his silence because the Times’ reporting “showed that it wasn’t just me, there were others too.”
One survivor claimed she was 12 when Chavez touched her inappropriately and 15 when he raped her in California, according to the Times. Another victim, who spoke to the Times, alleges that Chávez was summoned for sexual intercourse dozens of times over a four-year period, starting when she was 13 and Chávez was 45.
Bob Riha Jr/Getty Images, FILE – PHOTO: In this June 4, 1988 file photo, United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez speaks to a crowd of supporters in McFarland, California.
The Times investigation alleges that Chavez used his position of power to exploit many of the women who worked and volunteered in his movement for his own sexual gratification.
“It sickens me to know that he harmed young girls. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years,” Huerta said. “There are no words strong enough to condemn these deplorable actions. Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and movement.”
UFW says Cesar Chavez accused of harassing ‘young women or minors’
Huerta, 95, said she had two separate sexual encounters with Chavez in the 1960s.
“I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him for the first time, and I didn’t feel like I could say no because he was someone I admired, my boss, and the leader of the movement to which I had already devoted years of my life,” Huerta said. “For the second time, I was forced against my will and in an environment where I felt trapped.”
Huerta founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez in 1962; this was the work that led to the first farm union agreements in U.S. history. In 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her decades of advocacy for civil rights and women’s equality.
Jc Olivera/Getty Images – PHOTO: Dolores Huerta attends the “REBBECA” LA Premiere on November 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Chavez died in 1993 at the age of 66.
Huerta said both encounters with Chavez led to pregnancies that she kept secret and later arranged for them to be fostered by other families.
“Over the years, I have had the opportunity to develop a deep relationship with these children who are now close to my other children, their siblings,” Huerta said. “But even then, until a few weeks ago, no one quite knew the truth about how they were designed.”
Huerta said he “carried this secret as long as I did because it was my life’s work to build the movement and secure farmers’ rights.”
“The formation of a union was the only way to realize and secure these rights, and I was not going to let Cesar or anyone else get in my way,” Huerta said.
The UFW and the César Chávez Foundation acknowledged the “disturbing” allegations in statements to ABC News on Wednesday.
“The César Chávez Foundation has become aware of disturbing allegations that César Chávez engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).” the foundation said, adding that it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the reports.
“Our family is devastated by today’s New York Times article about our father, Cesar Chavez,” the Chavez family said in a statement Wednesday.
The family added: “This is very painful for our family. We wish peace and healing to the survivors and admire their courage in coming forward. As a family committed to the values of equality and justice, we respect the voices of those who feel unheard and report sexual abuse. We carry our own memories of the person we know. Someone whose life included work and contributions that mattered deeply to many people. We remain committed to farmworkers and the causes that he and countless others have defended and continue to defend. “We ask for understanding and confidentiality as we continue to process this difficult information.”
