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Washington state senator Rebecca Saldaña, who represents Washington’s 37th legislative district, says she was shocked and dismayed to learn of troubling allegations involving farmworker icon Cesar Chavez. Saldaña, who previously worked with the United Farm Workers and has supported legislation to improve conditions for farmworkers, says she received a heads-up from the union’s national office that difficult news was about to break.

That news came in the form of a groundbreaking investigation by The New York Times, challenging Chavez’s long-held legacy. The report details serious allegations of grooming and sexual abuse involving young women within the union movement—claims that are now reverberating across generations of activists.

In a stunning development, fellow United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, now 95, says she too experienced sexual abuse, became pregnant by Chavez and gave birth to two children, keeping it secret for decades to protect the movement she helped build.

As these revelations surface, they are prompting difficult questions about accountability, and the future of a movement rooted in justice. We speak with Saldaña about the impact of these allegations—and what comes next for those carrying the movement forward.

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