Farmworker Union Pioneer Dolores Huerta Dies at 95
WHO:
Los Angeles Times - Dolores Huerta, labor organizer and civil-rights activist, co-founded and helped lead the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). She was the mother of 14 children and, according to her foundation’s website, had 24 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta’s family spokesperson, Erik Olvera, said she died surrounded by members of her family and described her as “incredibly beloved” and “an icon to so many people around the country and around the world.”
Los Angeles Times - Huerta worked with César Chávez and was a central figure in organizing farmworkers. Their relationship included conflicts over union strategy and loyalty; Chávez once called her “totally fearless, both mentally and physically.”
Los Angeles Times - Huerta later acknowledged that Chávez had forced sex on her twice, resulting in two pregnancies. She said she had kept silent for six decades to protect the farmworker movement and described herself as “a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.”
Los Angeles Times - Huerta’s daughter Camila Chávez headed the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and her son Emilio Huerta provided legal advice. Four other relatives served on its board.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012.
WHAT:
Los Angeles Times - Huerta died at age 96; Olvera said the cause was cancer.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta helped found the UFW in 1962 and recruited members, organized picket lines, negotiated farmworker contracts, established hiring halls and promoted the union’s grape boycott.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta coined the rallying phrase “Sí, se puede” (“Yes, it can be done”) during a campaign against an anti-union law in Arizona; the phrase became a union and progressive-movement mantra.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta worked on women’s rights, Democratic Party politics and community organizing, and her foundation supported children’s arts programs, student mentoring, voter registration and flood-relief food distribution.
Los Angeles Times - In 2025, a Huerta nonprofit broke ground on the $35-million Dolores Huerta Peace and Justice Cultural Center in Bakersfield. The project, largely funded by California, is to include an academy for training community organizers.
Los Angeles Times - Huerta sustained a ruptured spleen after a San Francisco police officer struck her during a peaceful protest. She later received an $850,000 settlement from the city.
WHERE:
Los Angeles Times - Huerta died in Bakersfield. She called Bakersfield home.
Los Angeles Times - The UFW was founded in Delano in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Los Angeles Times - The planned cultural center is in Bakersfield.
WHY:
Los Angeles Times - Huerta left teaching after one year, saying, “I thought I could do more by organizing farmworkers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”
Los Angeles Times - Huerta said she had remained silent about Chávez’s sexual abuse to protect the farmworker movement.
HOW:
Los Angeles Times - Huerta organized by recruiting workers door to door, maintaining picket lines, negotiating with growers and promoting boycotts. She also campaigned for progressive causes and registered voters through her foundation.
Los Angeles Times - During a 1965 strike against rose growers in McFarland, Huerta used her car to block a worker from going to work and breaking the strike.
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 21:03 UTC)
Dolores Huerta, pioneering farmworker organizer and civil-rights activist, has died at 96 in Bakersfield. She co-founded the United Farm Workers and championed workers through organizing, negotiations, and boycotts. Huerta coined “Sí, se puede,” and later disclosed sexual abuse by César Chávez.