On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to strip Cesar Chavez’s name from the county holiday calendar and rename it "Sacramento County Farm Workers Appreciation Day." The new title shifts the focus squarely onto farmworkers, reframing the observance in the middle of a national reckoning over recent abuse allegations tied to Chávez.
According to ABC10, the vote was unanimous, and supervisors directed county staff to come back with recommended dates for future observance. Staff were also told to meet with represented employee organizations to sort out how the holiday should be observed. The change affects the county’s paid-holiday schedule and is meant to separate the day from the legacy of one individual. County officials did not immediately select a new date.
National context
The Sacramento move lands amid a broader wave of reassessments. A Axios report detailed how a New York Times investigation alleging sexual abuse by Chávez prompted the United Farm Workers and several cities and states to cancel or rebrand events and memorials tied to him. Those decisions have triggered rapid policy shifts as officials scramble to figure out how to honor farmworker history without putting an accused abuser at the center of the celebration.
What the county said
Supervisors framed the rename as a way to spotlight the people who actually work the fields. The new name “formally recognizes the role farmworkers play in the region's economy and in the health and well‑being of county communities,” ABC10 reported. Supervisors emphasized that the move is intended to center workers and their role in the local food system, not to erase the broader labor movement that improved working conditions.
State and next steps
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signaled that this is not just a Sacramento conversation. He said he supports proposals to rename or rebrand Cesar Chavez Day statewide, according to AP News, suggesting more changes could be coming to how California observes the holiday.
Locally, the board instructed county staff to consult with employee groups and return with options, leaving the final decision on scheduling and observance details for a future meeting. For now, organizers and community groups in Sacramento are waiting to see those recommendations and any guidance for events planned around March 31. The supervisors’ vote makes clear that the county intends to keep a day of observance tied to farm labor, under a name that explicitly honors the workers who make the region’s agriculture possible.
