UFW Co-Founder Dolores Huerta Dies at 96 After Decades of Labor and Political Work

Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union and served as a key political strategist for the Democratic Party, died on Wednesday in California. Her family announced the news on social media, stating that she was 96 years old at the time of her passing.

Huerta began her career in union activism following her father, a miner and farm worker, and moved to New Mexico before settling in California. She joined forces with Cesar Chavez to establish the UFW, an organization that used strikes, boycotts, and protests to improve wages and working conditions for agricultural laborers during the 1960s and 1970s. The union credited her with helping secure better pay for farm workers during that era.

Beyond her union work, Huerta operated as a political operative for several Democratic candidates. She assisted Robert F. Kennedy in securing the party nomination in 1968. She later aided the election campaigns of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The UFW noted that she coined the phrase "Sí, se puede!" which became the union's slogan and was later adapted by Obama for his successful 2008 presidential race.

The relationship between Huerta and Chavez was described by the union as intense, with both figures known for their loud arguments. The UFW stated that Huerta viewed these conflicts as a necessary part of professional growth. However, new details about their history emerged in interviews Huerta gave to the New York Times in March. In those conversations, one month before her 96th birthday, she revealed that Chavez raped her in the winter of 1966 inside a vehicle in a secluded California grape field. She said she did not report the assault at the time due to authorities' hostility toward the union and a fear that members would not believe her.

Huerta had four children with Richard Chavez, the brother of Cesar Chavez, who died in 2011. She maintained a long-term domestic partnership with him. The union praised her as a fierce advocate for women's rights, noting that she was often unaware of the impact she had on women in agriculture and beyond.

Her legacy is marked by several educational institutions named in her honor, including four elementary schools in California, a high school in Pueblo, Colorado, and a school in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2012, President Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award in the United States, during a ceremony at the White House.

Her family asked for privacy as they grieve. They indicated that they would share plans to celebrate her life and legacy in the coming days.