Dolores Huerta, Labor Leader and Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 96

28 Oct 2026, 16:39 by Olivia-Anne Cleary · TIME

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Dolores Huerta, who co-founded what became known as the United Farm Workers union to help secure better pay for laborers, has died at age 96.

In a statement shared through her foundation, Huerta’s team said she passed away on Wednesday at home in Bakersfield, California, “surrounded by her close family.”

Huerta, who campaigned for the rights of migrant laborers throughout the 1960s and 70s, is credited with coining the rallying cry “Sí, se puede”—“Yes, we can.” The phrase inspired generations and was famously adopted by former President Barack Obama, who presented Dolores with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

“One of the few women lobbyists of her era, [Dolores] became a formidable advocate for people who could not afford one,” reads the obituary shared by Huerta’s foundation. “Her legislative victories included a California measure allowing driver’s license examinations in Spanish, the extension of Aid to Families with Dependent Children to California farmworker families, and disability insurance protections for agricultural workers.”

Huerta founded United Farm workers with Cesar Chavez in 1962 and served as its vice president for almost four decades. She worked closely with Chavez until his death in 1993. Earlier this year, Huerta came forward with allegations against Chavez, accusing him of having sexually abused her in the 1960s. “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here,” said Huerta in a statement in March.

Huerta said she was driven to share her experiences after an investigation released by the New York Times revealed accusations that Chavez, a long-celebrated icon of the labor movement, groomed and sexually abused multiple girls and women who worked in the movement, including Huerta.

This is a developing story and will be updated.