Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez during the 1960s to secure safer working conditions for California field laborers.
Her organizing efforts led to statutory labor protections. Huerta coined the movement rallying cry "Sí se puede" during a 1972 labor dispute in Arizona. In 1975, California enacted the Agricultural Labor Relations Act to establish a dispute board and provide collective bargaining rights for farmworkers excluded from the federal National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The union subsequently secured state rules mandating heat safety standards, pesticide protections, and overtime compensation passed in 2016.
California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted Huerta's enduring imprint when signing a farmworker union card-check bill into law, stating, "Our state has been defined by the heroic activism of farmworkers, championed by American icons like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong."
Huerta also exercised independent political influence separate from the union. While the United Farm Workers backed Adam Schiff in the 2024 U.S. Senate primary, Huerta endorsed Barbara Lee. In July 2026, Huerta endorsed state Senator Scott Wiener in a San Francisco congressional race, demonstrating her continuing personal voice in California politics.
