Tucson community members gathered to reaffirm their commitment to workers' rights and solidarity, pressing forward with a renamed unity fair after sexual assault allegations against César Chávez upended what had long been one of the city's signature labor events.

Organizers of the Comunidad y Labor Unity Fair, previously known as the César Chávez and Dolores Huerta March and Rally, moved forward with Saturday's rally at Rudy Garcia Park but canceled the march and car show after sexual assault allegations against Chávez surfaced last week.

Despite the news, community members showed up in force, determined to keep the focus on the workers, youth and neighbors they have long fought to support. The rally included representatives from various community groups, including labor unions, school organizations and city and county officials.

"Like many of you, my heart didn't feel so good throughout the week," said organizer Eva Carrillo Dong. "It felt broken, immensely sad. Weak, even. But I began to rally around my family, my friends and my champions, and I felt the strength of community."

Mayor Regina Romero, the daughter of immigrant farm workers who picketed in the fields for better working conditions, said their efforts would not be overshadowed or erased.

"One person is not the movement," Romero told attendees. "We are all the movement, and the picketing and the organizing and the blood, sweat and tears that my parents and my husband's parents and so many of our neighbors and so many people participated in, will not be erased. There has been so much that has tried to break us as a community, as a movement, and this, will not break us."

Last week, Romero asked City Manager Tim Thomure to look into removing or covering the Chávez statue in Barrio Viejo and the dedication sign at Jardin César Chávez on South Stone Avenue.

The statue, vandalized with red paint in the wake of the allegations, was removed by the city Monday morning.

"We should not turn away from making people accountable for the crimes that they've done. There's continued work that we need to do, and right now, more than ever, we need to be in community, in solidarity, with each other," Romero said.

Ward 5 Councilwoman Selina Barajas echoed that call for unity.

"Being united in community looks like … creating safe spaces where people can be their authentic selves," Barajas said. "For me, what community is, is always thinking about our ancestors, those that have come before us, those that aren't with us, but thinking … how can we make it a better place for our youth, for our families and for future generations to come?"

An altar with pictures of the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva and the late Supervisor Richard Elias was displayed beside the stage in their honor, with Pima County Supervisor Andrés Cano reflecting on Elias' mentorship.

"The images that we see here of these social justice warriors are a reminder of what we have to do at this moment in time: to recognize that their legacies, their contributions, still matter," Cano said. "I will always think of what Supervisor (Richard) Elias taught me at age 15, which was to give back to the community that we love, to respect our traditions, our heritage, and to always do our part, to ask our neighbors, 'how can we help?'"

The fair also featured representatives from several youth-based organizations.

Dacia Reyes, 12, is co-chair of the Jobs with Justice Youth Coalition, a student-led branch of the national organization created to empower youth to become lifelong advocates for workers and workers' rights.

"We are trying to create a more established coalition with other youth that care about the issues happening in our community," Dacia Reyes said. "We do events like this to spend our time and show our community and let them know that we care."

The coalition's other co-chair, Ximena Reyes, participated in a panel at last month's Arizona Heat Summit.

"It's important that we participate and are part of policy making … we are the future," Dacia Reyes said.

Jessica Ramirez, co-chair of Pueblo High School's Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán chapter, attended her first protest after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, saying it empowered her to get involved with community organizing.

"I really found (a) community," Ramirez said. "I saw my opportunity to kind of get involved in the community organizing aspect of it. I've been really enjoying it."

Pueblo's MEChA chapter is collaborating with students at other TUSD and Sunnyside high schools on barrio walks, door-to-door canvassing that involves informing community members about their rights.

Ramirez said the positive responses she has received from the community mean her organization is doing something right.

"I'd like to say how proud I am of all of the mechistas at Pueblo," Ramirez said. "This has grown into something that, you know, I wouldn't have even imagined, and I'm just really excited to see it move forward."

Pima Community College's Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Studies Club highlights and advocates for courses in the same department and holds events recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Transgender Awareness Week and Women's History Month.

"We definitely advocate for these classes, because if nobody's taking them, they're going to go away, and we can't afford for that to happen," said Vice President Isis Morales. "We do a lot of (to) give (students) exposure to things that they wouldn't normally have exposure to, and create that safe space for students and the community to come together, share opinions, be yourself and learn a little something."

Representatives from unions and workers groups were also present at the rally, including Tony Pineda, a staffer at the Josefina Ahumada Workers Center.

The center provides employment and advocates for workers' rights, recently penning a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs requesting enforceable heat injury and illness prevention rules in the state.

"All the organizations here have their own objective, but in the end, we all have one thing in common, which is community," Pineda said. "While the community still supports these organizations … our voice continues to be heard."

Committee member Sarah Roberts told attendees about recent cases of wage theft that the center's workers have faced, saying they've created a "Wall of Shame" of people and businesses that have refused to pay their workers.

"We get reports of wage theft at least twice a week, reports made by workers who are members of the worker center, but also others come to us saying, 'We've experienced this wage theft,'" Roberts said. "We need help to figure out what to do, and so we try to help them as best we can. We work in community. We can fight for our neighbor's rights if we work together in community and unity."

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 represents commercial workers at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, several Bookmans locations and grocery stores, including Fry's, Albertsons and Safeway.

"Being back with the community always feels like home," said representative Adriana Luna.

The union has spoken out against anti-union tactics by Amazon, called for a ban on AI-powered surveillance pricing in grocery stores and successfully maintained union contracts after a local distillery changed ownership.

"We're all here to uplift one another," Luna said. "We keep each other informed of what's going on within our union. So that way, if you guys need help with something, you guys are gonna go picket. You're gonna strike. Call us. We'll be there."

Carrillo Dong closed the rally with a call to action.

"We are going to continue to fight for justice, continue to educate one another, continue to tell our stories and continue to work together to battle against those that do not want us to," she said.

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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