These are some noteworthy labor headlines we read this week.

Weekly Labor Reads:

TOP STORY

“It Was Time”: Dolores Huerta’s First Interview After “Devastating” Cesar Chavez Expose

On Wednesday, the New York Times published an in-depth piece of investigative journalism in which several women came forward to share their stories of surviving sexual abuse and assault perpetrated by the late UFW leader Cesar Chavez. The article sent shockwaves through the labor movement, not least of all because one of the accusers was Dolores Huerta, a beloved pillar of the community who co-led the UFW with Chavez and remains engaged in the movement at 95 years old. In her first interview given after speaking out on the assaults she experienced, Dolores Huerta shares her perspective as a survivor and leader of the farmworkers movement. Huerta discusses her emotional state upon learning the extent of Chavez’ abuse. She also explains her difficult choice not to disclose the assaults she experienced for fear it would detract from the movement she and so many others dedicated their lives to. Please see a list of resources for survivors of sexual abuse and assault below.

Latino USA

Maria Hinojosa

GLOBAL LABOR

Far from home, millions of migrant workers in the Gulf are trapped by war

NPR

Ashley Westerman

LOS ANGELES NEWS

LAUSD teacher and service worker unions announce massive April 14 strike if no deal reached

Los Angeles Times

Howard Blume

LABOR ACTIONS

Thousands of workers strike at one of the largest meatpacking plants in the US

AP News

Brittany Peterson, Matthew Brown and Morgan Lee

COMMENTARY

Why President Trump is targeting federal workers

Federal News Network

John Yochelson

IRLE NEWS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

This week, the UCLA Labor Center issued the following statement and list of resources in light of the breaking news impacting women in our community:

"We stand in unwavering support of survivors Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and all the women and children who—despite decades of unthinkable fear, pain, and abuse by César Chávez—have courageously spoken truth to power. 

To experience this within a movement grounded in justice and truth-telling is a burden that no person should bear. We affirm their stories and are grateful to them for trusting the public with this step in their healing journey.

We know that our movements for worker and immigrant rights are strongest as a collective—one person never represents the whole. Yet, we are only as powerful as our ability to hold ourselves to account.

We honor the women leaders and the farmworkers in our movements and support their struggles for dignity and justice. 

If you are a survivor of sexual violence, please know that there are people and resources available to support you."


RESOURCE LIST

• Dolores Huerta Foundation Sexual Assault Resource List
• End Rape on Campus Resource List
• Peace Over Violence Hotlines
• RAINN Resource List
• UCLA Campus Assault Resources and Education (CARE) Program

Remember This!

IRLE's Remember This! series and Memory Work website is under maintenance. We will be back next week with more Los Angeles labor history.

Memory Work Los Angeles is a project of UCLA IRLE. We bring the past to the present to highlight the diverse experiences and perspectives of working people in Southern California, the changing world of work, and the continuing struggle for equality.

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UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) advances labor research and education for workplace justice. Through the work of its units – the UCLA Labor Center, the Human Resources Roundtable, the Labor Occupational Safety and Health program (LOSH) and its academic program, UCLA Labor Studies – the Institute forms wide-ranging research and agendas that carry UCLA into the Los Angeles community and beyond.