Dolores Huerta, Labor Leader and Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 96
Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers, was a pivotal figure in the fight for farmworker rights and other social justice causes.
Dolores Huerta, a towering figure in the labor movement and a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, has died at the age of 96. Her team announced her passing on Wednesday, stating that she died at her home in Bakersfield, California, surrounded by her family.
Huerta was instrumental in the fight for better pay and working conditions for agricultural laborers, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s. She is widely credited with coining the influential rallying cry "Sí, se puede"—meaning "Yes, we can"—a phrase that inspired countless activists and was later adopted by former President Barack Obama. In recognition of her lifelong advocacy, Obama awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Throughout her career, Huerta served as a formidable advocate for marginalized communities. Her legislative achievements include securing the right for driver’s license examinations to be administered in Spanish in California, extending Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits to California farmworker families, and establishing disability insurance protections for agricultural workers.
She founded the United Farm Workers in 1962 alongside Cesar Chavez, serving as the union's vice president for nearly four decades. Their collaboration continued until Chavez's death in 1993. Earlier in 2026, Huerta publicly shared allegations that Chavez had sexually abused her in the 1960s. She stated that she had kept this secret for too long and felt compelled to speak out following a New York Times investigation that detailed accusations of grooming and sexual abuse by Chavez against multiple women and girls associated with the labor movement.