Dolores Huerta Dies at 96 After Decades of Labor Activism

Dolores Huerta, a prominent labor organizer and civil rights advocate who co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Cesar Chavez in the 1960s, has died at 96, her family announced Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Huerta spent decades fighting to improve agricultural workers' conditions and advance the rights of marginalized communities across the United States.

Her family confirmed her death in a statement released Wednesday. The announcement marked the loss of a central figure in the farmworker rights movement, whose contributions were often overshadowed by Chavez's public prominence.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today,” Huerta's family said in its statement.

Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernandez on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico. According to the account of her early life, her mother, Alicia, raised Huerta and her siblings after their parents divorced. Alicia was a businesswoman who was also actively involved in the agricultural community.

Huerta devoted much of her life to organizing farmworkers and campaigning for better working conditions. Her work with the UFW helped establish her as a significant figure in the broader struggle for labor rights and civil rights, although public recognition of the movement frequently centered on Chavez.

Earlier in 2026, Huerta disclosed allegations of sexual assault against Chavez in an interview with The New York Times, bringing renewed attention to the personal experiences behind the movement's history. She alleged that Chavez drove her to an isolated grape field in Delano, California, in 1966, during a period when the UFW's boycott campaign was at its height, and raped her.

Huerta also told The New York Times that an earlier incident occurred in 1960, when she alleged Chavez pressured her into having sex during a work trip. She said she did not report either incident because of police attitudes toward the labor movement and her fear that fellow union members would not believe her.

The allegations added a significant and deeply personal dimension to the history of the farmworker movement, in which Huerta's organizing achievements had long received less attention than Chavez's role. The circumstances surrounding her death and further details were not included in the family's announcement cited in the report.