Dolores Huerta, the labor leader, feminist and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers and turned “Sí, se puede!” into a national rallying cry, has died at 96, her family announced. Reports from NPR, the Boston Herald, USA Today, MSN and other outlets confirmed the death. The family did not immediately disclose a cause.

Huerta’s death closes a chapter in the farmworker movement she helped build alongside Cesar Chavez. Born in Dawson, New Mexico, in 1930 and raised in California’s Central Valley, Huerta became one of the most recognizable Latina leaders of the 20th century. She co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers, and helped lead the Delano grape strike and the national boycott that followed in the 1960s. Those efforts forced growers to negotiate some of the first contracts covering farmworkers’ wages, hours and safety.

A life in the fields and on the picket line

Huerta was more than a union officer. She was a lead negotiator, a strategist and a moral voice for workers who had long been excluded from basic labor protections. She also challenged the treatment of women inside the movement and pushed civil rights, immigration and environmental issues onto the farmworker agenda. Her work helped redefine who counted as a worker in American politics.

“Sí, se puede!” — the phrase Huerta coined, meaning “Yes, it is possible” or “Yes, we can.”

The phrase became a chant at strikes, boycotts and voter drives, and it later echoed in broader political campaigns. It was a compact statement of Huerta’s organizing philosophy: ordinary people could win if they acted together.

How different outlets framed the loss

Coverage across outlets reflected the breadth of her legacy. NPR described her as an “influential labor leader, feminist and civil rights icon,” emphasizing the range of movements she touched. The Boston Herald reported that her family had announced the death, while USA Today and MSN framed the story around her role as a United Farm Workers co-founder. Regional outlets added other dimensions: NHPR reported on her message to Connecticut Latinas to stay civically engaged, and Yahoo reported that she had urged unity at a San Francisco Human Rights Summit. The Minnesota Daily highlighted state honors for her legacy, while onlineathens.com reported that artist Robert Vargas would unveil a mural titled “Walking into History” in her honor.

Those frames are not competing versions of the same story so much as different entries into a singular life. For labor reporters, Huerta was a co-architect of the farmworker movement. For civil rights and feminist writers, she was a reminder that the fight for racial and gender justice ran through the fields. For local newsrooms, she was a living symbol of civic participation whose message traveled far beyond California.

Legacy beyond the union

Huerta remained an activist long after the UFW’s founding battles. She founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation, trained community organizers and campaigned for workers, immigrants and women. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. As news of her death spread, tributes focused less on a single title than on the range of roles she carried: organizer, negotiator, mother, feminist, civil rights advocate and mentor.

• Co-founder of the United Farm Workers and a leader of the Delano grape strike and boycott.
• Coined “Sí, se puede!,” a rallying cry adopted by labor, Latino and civic movements.
• Fought for farmworkers’ contracts, women’s rights and broader civil rights protections.
• Continued organizing through the Dolores Huerta Foundation and public civic engagement campaigns.

Why her story matters

Huerta’s life traced a central American question: who gets a voice at work? Farmworkers were long left out of federal labor law protections, and their organizing was dangerous and difficult. Huerta helped turn a local struggle into a national moral cause, using boycotts, marches and consumer pressure to reach people far from the fields. Her death prompted remembrances from labor, civil rights and political circles, but the most durable tribute may be the organizing tradition she leaves behind. “Sí, se puede!” remains both an epitaph and an instruction.