Trigger warning: [ contains references to sexual assault ]
This week, the New York Times published a disturbing article about decades of sexual abuse by pioneering labor movement legend Cesar Chavez.
Subsequently Dolores Huerta, who built the farmworker movement alongside Chavez, broke 60 years of silence about how Chavez abused her as well.
Cesar Chavez has been honored for decades―with a Hollywood biopic, a statewide holiday in California, and parks around the country. Huerta silently watched as her abuser became an icon.
At nearly 96 years old, Huerta wrote: “I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.” Her courage reminds us that progress requires more than victories at the bargaining table; it demands we confront harm within our own ranks and build structures that protect and elevate those most marginalized.
How many more women have been driven out of the labor movement by abusive leaders? To reverse our country’s slide into oligarchy, we need to make sure our movements don’t recreate the violence we are seeking to change. For too long, this country has operated like a boys club, allowing abusers to accrue power at the expense of their victims.
That’s why we’re urging you to support WILL Empower, a national initiative dedicated to identifying, nurturing, and convening a new generation of labor leaders who are women, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people. WILL Empower puts intersectional gender and racial justice into practice through relationship-building among new and non-traditional leaders at every stage of their careers.
WILL Empower’s programs are already changing the face of labor leadership. Their Apprenticeship Program places activists in paid 3-12 month positions with unions and worker organizations across the nation.
The Emerging Leaders Cohort develops leaders in the early stages of their work, while the Executive Leadership Cohort supports senior leadership in unions and worker justice organizations. Recent award recipients include Stacy Davis Gates of the Chicago Teachers Union and Claudia Quiñones Torrico of United We Dream—leaders who are winning real gains for working people.
This work is happening at a critical moment. As Huerta’s story makes clear, women have always been central to labor’s victories. But too often, their work is overshadowed by the stories of abusive men, forcing women in labor to choose between justice for themselves and justice for the movement.
WILL Empower is building a future where no leader has to make that choice. But they need resources to train more leaders.
Your donation will directly support apprenticeships, leadership cohorts, and the infrastructure needed to sustain a movement that centers gender and racial justice. This is how we build a labor movement that has room for everyone, and where everyone is safe
Together, we can ensure that the movement we build is one where everyone can lead without fear, and where justice isn’t just a demand we make of employers—it’s a practice we live every day. As Huerta said: “I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied.”
In solidarity,
The Labor Force
Note: If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, resources are available at the Dolores Huerta Foundation: https://doloreshuerta.org/sexual_assault_resources/