- Los Angeles County Proclaim April 10 as Activist Huerta Day
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved today a motion by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis to proclaim April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” in Los Angeles County beginning in 2024 and consequently in future years. Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century and a leader of the Chicano civil rights movement.
Born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico, Huerta is an American labor leader and civil rights activist. She, along with Cesar Chavez, co-founded the United Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers (UFW).
“At almost 94, Dolores Huerta is still organizing, still fighting, and still challenging us all to stand up against injustice,” said Supervisor Solis. “I am proud to call her my amiga and lead this special recognition to uplift her contributions. Her life is part of our collective history of resistance. To that end, I call on Angelenos to please join me in wishing her a happy birthday on April 10 by volunteering in causes she values.”
“I want to thank Supervisor Solis and the entire Board of Supervisors for bestowing on me this great honor,” said Dolores Huerta. “I am deeply moved to be recognized by the largest county in the United States and to have my birthday proclaimed as Dolores Huerta Day. This is something very special, and I will hold it dear in my heart. I look forward to continuing to partner with the all-women Board of Supervisors for the County of Los Angeles to help move the needle on progressive causes such as workers’ rights, healthcare, and housing.”
Huerta helped organize the 1965 Delano strike of 5,000 grape workers and was the lead negotiator in the workers’ contract that followed. During her time at the UFW, Huerta organized workers, negotiated contracts, and advocated for safer working conditions including the elimination of harmful pesticides. She also fought for unemployment and healthcare benefits for agricultural workers. Huerta led the nationwide table grape boycotts in the late 1960s which led to a successful union contract by 1970.
Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, Huerta worked to improve workers’ legislative representation. In 1973, Huerta led another consumer boycott of grapes that resulted in the ground-breaking California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. This law allowed farm workers to form unions and bargain for higher wages and better work conditions. During the 1990s and 2000s, she worked to elect more Latinos and women to political office and championed women’s issues.
Huerta has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers’, immigrants’, and women’s rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, in 1993.
Today, Huerta continues to work on developing leaders and advocating for the working poor, women, and children. As founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she travels across the country fighting for equity and civil rights. Her contributions to California and Latinos across the country have inspired generations of leaders fighting for justice for all workers.
