Cesar Chavez’s family reminds RFK Jr. their votes are going to Biden after he invokes their late father’s name
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a notice from the family of the late Cesar Chavez to stop using their patriarch’s name for his campaign.
The labor leader’s eldest son, Fernando Chavez, signed a letter Friday which was first reported by the Washington Post. Fernando and his brother Paul gave the Chavez family endorsement to President Joe Biden that same day, according to the incumbent’s campaign. This comes ahead of Cesar Chavez Day on Sunday, the late activist’s birthday, since then-President Barack Obama enacted it so in 2014.
“We respectfully call upon you and your campaign to cease using images of our father to associate yourself with him and suggest your campaign’s goals are compatible,” the letter reads.
Kennedy likewise planned to commemorate the holiday with a Los Angeles event featuring “Mexican food, drinks, culture, voter registration assistance.” The candidate planned to host guests and give his own remarks.
Biden’s campaign manager is Julie Chavez Rodriguez, one of the granddaughters in the family. She previously worked as Biden’s senior adviser and also worked as a staffer under Obama’s Office of Public Engagement.
“I worked with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the United Farm Workers on multiple issues, events, and campaigns for nearly 50 years. I’m proud of that work,” Kennedy said in a comment to the Washington Examiner. “On Saturday we are celebrating Cesar Chavez Day to honor Cesar Chavez and his close friendship with my father, my family, and me and his impact on our country.”
Kennedy Sr. was in California during the 1965 grape strike that led to the founding of the United Farm Workers that next year, when they merged the National Farm Workers Association and Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Kennedy was seen intervening with law enforcement attempting to arrest striking farmers. Two years later, Kennedy was by Chavez’s side while he broke his 25-day fast with grapes.
“Julie Chavez Rodriguez is the campaign manager for the Biden campaign so I can understand the discontent from the Chavez family,” Kennedy Jr. went on. “It’s disappointing, but it’s politics.”
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Biden offered a statement the same day of this letter and endorsement, saying he is “proud to keep a bust of César Chávez in the Oval Office. It is a daily reminder of our shared commitment to America’s workers and our labor unions.”
This comes as the Biden campaign is seemingly bleeding Latino support. According to a poll from the American Principles Project, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are nearly deadlocked among Latino voters in Arizona and Nevada.
