Lawsuit: Cesar Chavez Foundation And U.F.W. Failed To Prevent Woman’s Rape

FRESNO, Calif., Sept. 9, 2026 — The first lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a survivor who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Cesar Chavez when she was a volunteer for the United Farm Workers. Leadership at the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the United Farm Workers turned a blind eye and rebuffed complaints while the labor union and civil rights icon targeted women for sexual abuse, including the 1973 rape of the Plaintiff, according to the recent lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court.

Jane Doe alleges that she began volunteering with Central Valley union organizing efforts after she worked in fruit sheds in Northern California during a summer break.   She was appalled at the poor treatment of these hardworking employees and vowed to do something to improve their conditions. 

She moved to the Central Valley and joined in the national movement to strike and implore consumers to stop eating grapes until conditions improved.   Her family moved into the UFW Nuestra Senora Reina De La Paz,  compound in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains, east of Bakersfield.
It was there that she was assaulted by Chavez, according to the lawsuit.

In spring 1973, Doe attended a celebration at La Paz, on her birthday.  She danced with Chavez but became uncomfortable as he advanced on her knowing her husband was sent away on a UFW mission. 

The lawsuit states. “Shortly thereafter, upon returning and entering her house, Chavez summoned (Doe) to a room within her house. Inside the room, Chavez pulled (Doe) onto the bed and raped her.”  He sexually assaulted her again 3 to 4 years later. 

Doe “actively avoided interactions with Chavez as best as possible and reserved interactions with him to board meetings or other situations in which interaction was unavoidable,” the lawsuit states.

Chavez’s treatment of women, including sexual harassment, grooming, abuse and assault, was an open secret, the lawsuit continues. 

On March 18, 2026, The New York Times published an investigation, uncovering Chavez’s decades-long grooming and sexual abuse of girls and women who worked in the farm worker movement. The article reported that Chavez’s relatives and former UFW leaders had been aware of various allegations of sexual misconduct for years, but made no efforts to investigate the allegations, acknowledge the victims, report to abuse to authorities, or halt the abuse from
continuing.

On June 12, 2026, The New York Times published a follow-up article, detailing the harassment, misogyny, and sexual assault women within the UFW movement faced by men in the movement. As reported, in the late 1970s, several women organizers formed a women’s safety group to discuss safety and the second-class status of women in the union. The women in the group were verbally attacked by several of Mr. Chavez’s top lieutenants, accused of trying to ruin the movement. As reported, a number of women complained to union leaders, but were rebuffed. 

Other survivors can come forward not to achieve a reckoning and justice as Assembly Bill 250, a California law that on Jan. 1, 2026 reopened a two-year window for survivors of sexual assault to file claims that had previously expired. Many women are alleged to have survived these assaults causing trauma, depression, anxiety, anger, emotional distress, and even suicidal ideations. 

“There is no organization, no movement and no cause that justifies sexual abuse as a price to pay for being part of it,” said civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone. “Our client is coming forward after all these years to help make sure that the current and future generations of leaders understand that they are not above the law.” 

Representing Doe are Arias, Sahar Malek and Nia Gamble of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team LLP, of Los Angeles; and Jim DeSimone and Ryann Hall of V. James DeSimone Law, of Marina del Rey.

Jane Doe v. Cesar Chavez Foundation, United Farm Workers, et al, (Case No. 26CUB03446) was filed Sept. 1, 2026, in Kern County Superior Court.

DOWNLOAD LAWSUIT HERE

Related Coverage

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/us/cesar-chavez-lawsuit.html

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317180754.html

https://gvwire.com/2026/09/09/new-accuser-sues-foundations-with-ties-to-cesar-chavez/