March 31 Gets a New Name and It Belongs to the People Who Feed The World

A New Holiday is Born

California is celebrating a brand new statewide holiday today, and the agricultural community has every reason to take note. March 31 now marks the official observance of Farmworkers Day, a day dedicated to honoring the men and women whose labor powers the nation’s most productive agricultural state.

What the Law Says

The holiday was established through Assembly Bill 2156, authored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara). Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on March 26, just five days before the holiday. The bill passed the California State Senate unanimously, 37 to 0, and the Assembly 70 to 0, with zero opposition from either chamber. The holiday will be observed every year on March 31.

Out With the Old, In With the New

AB 2156 replaces the former César Chávez Day observance, which had been a state holiday for 25 years. The change follows a March 18 New York Times investigation detailing sexual abuse allegations against Chávez. Rather than centering the holiday on one individual, supporters say the new designation casts a wider net, celebrating the entire farmworker workforce, past and present, and the movement’s lasting impact on labor and civil rights in America. Speaker Rivas said it best on the Assembly floor: “The farmworker movement was never about one man. It was built by thousands, tens of thousands, of workers…Their legacy is not defined by one individual. It is defined by a movement, a movement for dignity, a movement for justice.”

Farm Bureau Weighs In

The California Farm Bureau was among those praising the new holiday. Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass highlighted just how critical farmworkers are to keeping California agriculture running. “California is the leading grower of fruits, vegetables, and nuts in the United States, and farmworkers are essential to ensuring crops are planted, worked, and harvested on tight timelines,” Douglass said.

Why It Matters Here at Home

That message hits close to home in the Central Valley, where California’s agricultural sector employs an estimated 400,000 to 800,000 workers seasonally, depending on harvest cycles. As farms gear up for another growing season across almonds, pistachios, tomatoes, grapes, citrus, and more, Farmworkers Day is a timely and well-deserved reminder, behind every harvest is a workforce that feeds California, and the rest of the nation.