Labor Leader Dolores Huerta Dies at 96
Civil rights activist and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta died Wednesday in California at the age of 96.
Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta died Wednesday in California at the age of 96. Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez and Gilbert Padilla, utilizing strikes and boycotts to secure the first farmworker union contracts in United States history. She is credited with coining the slogan “Sí, se puede!” and later established the Dolores Huerta Foundation in 2002.
In 2012, Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her advocacy for agricultural workers and women's rights. However, her legacy was marked by a significant personal revelation in March 2026, when she broke a decades-long silence to allege that Chavez had raped her in 1966. This claim followed a New York Times investigation into Chavez's history of abusing teenage girls.
California Governor Gavin Newsom honored her passing by ordering flags to be flown at half-staff. Newsom described Huerta as a leader who fundamentally reshaped the state through her commitment to justice and gender equity.
