Dolores Huerta Dies at 96, Leaving a Legacy of Farmworker and Immigrant Rights
Dolores Huerta, the labor organizer who helped secure collective bargaining rights for California farmworkers and mobilized consumers in a nationwide grape boycott, died of cancer at her home in Bakersfield, California, on Oct. 28. She was 96. “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the […]
Dolores Huerta, a prominent labor organizer who fought for farmworkers' rights and immigrant protections, passed away at the age of 96 on October 28, 2022, in Bakersfield, California, according to her family. Huerta was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico, and later moved to Stockton, California. As a teacher, she became aware of the poverty faced by children whose parents worked in agricultural fields, which led her to pursue community organizing.
In 1962, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez. The two organizations later merged to form the United Farm Workers (UFW), which utilized strikes, boycotts, and contract negotiations to improve the wages and working conditions of agricultural workers. Her efforts played a significant role in the passage of California's 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which created a legal framework enabling farmworkers to organize unions and collectively bargain.
Beyond her work with farmworkers, Huerta advocated for immigrant rights, women's political participation, and social protections for working families throughout her life. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham remembered Huerta as someone who fought for working people everywhere, particularly emphasizing her origins in New Mexico.
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