NewsLos Angeles MagazineOctober 28, 2026Los Angeles County
Civil Rights Activist and UFW Co-Founder Dolores Huerta Dies at 96
Photo: Los Angeles Magazine
Civil rights icon and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta died Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield at the age of 96. Her family announced her passing in a statement, remembering her decades-long fight for labor, political, and social equality. Tributes poured in from leaders including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who highlighted Huerta's role in securing landmark worker protections.
Read the full story at Los Angeles MagazineWhy It Matters
The death of a foundational labor and civil rights leader marks the passing of a central figure behind national farmworker protections, overtime laws, and heat illness standards.
Key Facts
- Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, died on Wednesday in her Bakersfield home at the age of 96.
- She co-founded the UFW with Cesar Chavez in the 1960s and 70s.
- Huerta was born in New Mexico in April 1930 and raised in Stockton, California.
- She was arrested more than 25 times for participating in nonviolent civil disobedience, including an arrest at age 89 in 2019 during a home health care worker protest.
- Her activism extended to voting rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, and LGBTQ equality.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass noted Huerta's work helped secure California laws providing farm workers overtime pay after eight hours and heat death prevention standards.
- In an investigation published earlier this year by The New York Times, Huerta stated that Cesar Chavez had manipulated and pressured her into having sex and forced her in the 1960s.
Who's Mentioned
PersonCesar Chavez“Longtime activist partner and co-founder of the UFW”locationStockton“City where Huerta grew up”PersonKaren Bass“Mayor of Los Angeles”locationNew Mexico“Birthplace of Dolores Huerta”PersonAlicia“Mother of Dolores Huerta”PersonDolores Huerta“Civil rights activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers”OrganizationThe New York Times“Publication that published an investigation regarding Huerta and Chavez”OrganizationUnited Farm Workers“Labor union co-founded by Huerta and Chavez”locationLos Angeles“City of which Bass is mayor”locationCalifornia“State where Huerta lived and worked”locationBakersfield“City where Huerta passed away”