Dolores Huerta, farmworker union co-founder, dies at 96

Dolores Huerta, the labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers with César Chávez, died Wednesday at home at age 96. Her family announced her death in a statement through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, according to the Associated Press. A cause of death has not been released.

In a statement, the family said “this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy,” Fox LA reported. The family said it would share plans to celebrate her legacy.

From teacher to organizer

Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernandez in 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico, according to NPR. Her father was a miner and union activist who later won a seat in the state legislature. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and her mother moved the children to California.

She became an elementary school teacher in California’s San Joaquin Valley. NPR reported that she left the classroom to organize farmworkers after seeing students arrive at school hungry.

In 1962, Huerta and Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers of America a few years later, NPR reported. Huerta was a leader and negotiator for the union. She joined Filipino grape pickers on the picket line during what NPR described as a five-year strike. She helped negotiate contracts that won farmworkers their first health and benefit plans.

“Sí, se puede” and later honors

Huerta coined the slogan “Sí, se puede,” which translates as “Yes, it can be done,” according to NPR. Former President Barack Obama later joked that he had borrowed it for his 2008 campaign. Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

NPR reported that she was the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and received nine honorary doctorates. Schools in California, Texas and Colorado are named for her. She was jailed 22 times for union activity, according to NPR. In 1988, a police baton seriously injured her during a protest against then-Vice President George H.W. Bush in San Francisco, and she later settled with the city.

She worked on Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign until his assassination, NPR reported. She later campaigned for Bill Clinton, Obama and Joe Biden.

The 2026 disclosure about Chávez

On March 18, Huerta released a statement saying she had been sexually abused by Chávez in the 1960s. The statement came the same day ABC News reported on a New York Times investigation of Chávez. “I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences,” Huerta said.

Huerta said there were two encounters. “The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him,” she said. “The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.” She said both led to pregnancies, which she kept secret, and that other families raised the children. She said she later developed close relationships with them.

The César Chávez Foundation said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the reports, ABC News reported. The Chávez family said it was devastated by the Times article.

NPR reported that Huerta had kept the matter private for about 60 years. In a 2026 interview with the podcast Latino USA, she said, “It was my personal pain, it was my personal problem,” according to NPR. She said she feared that speaking out would damage the movement’s work.

Tributes

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said, “My heart is broken by the passing of my dear friend Dolores Huerta.” Solis said she authored a 2024 motion to proclaim Dolores Huerta Day in the county on Huerta’s birthday.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said, “Dolores Huerta was the living embodiment of the labor movement.” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, “Her legacy of courage and service will continue to inspire generations,” according to Fox LA.

In the 2025 documentary “Seeds of Change,” Huerta said, “I hope that my legacy will be one of an organizer that organized to fight injustice,” NPR reported.