The UFW was among those paying tribute to Huerta, saying in a statement posted to social media that she had coined its motto – “Si Se Puede!”, Spanish for “Yes, we can!” – which became a familiar rallying cry for activists seeking better working conditions for Hispanic farm workers.
“Her life’s work was to empower her community to face and overcome injustices, and she has left farm workers and the entire Latino community stronger and more organised than she found it,” the UFW said.
“Her commitment to civic engagement and bringing political power to disenfranchised people is a lesson we all should carry to the ballot box.”
Huerta spent much of her life recruiting members to the union, protesting and picketing for various causes and helping negotiate the first farm worker contracts in North America.
Former US President Bill Clinton, who awarded Huerta the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998, said in a statement that he and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “lost a dear friend” and that “we’ve all lost a stalwart champion of working Americans”.
“To see her in action was to witness a living legend who never stopped pushing for progress and seeing every new obstacle as a fresh opportunity to educate, to organise, and to uplift—even as those efforts sometimes brought her grave consequences,” Clinton said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that Huerta “represented the best of us”. He praised her “resolute spirit, her passion for justice and fairness, and her commitment to those overlooked and forgotten”.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass remembered Huerta as an “icon” and “fearless leader”, who inspired many to activism and helped secure landmark protections nationwide.
Bass highlighted Huerta’s work to amend laws to require overtime pay for farm workers after eight-hour days and her contributions to the first comprehensive standards to prevent heat deaths in California.
“Dolores reminded us that no matter the odds, no matter the obstacle, we can build a greater life for ourselves, our community, our city, and our country,” she said.
Huerta also helped end what was known as the Bracero Program, where Mexican men were brought to work temporarily into the US, and helped negotiate the 1986 Immigration Reform Act, according to the union.
The president of the voting group Voto Latino, María Teresa Kumar, called Huerta a “civil rights giant” who gave “her entire life, until her final days, to championing and fighting injustice for everyone, no matter who they were or where they came from”.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, made up of Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives, said in a statement on Wednesday that “Dolores Huerta defied definition”.
“A national and international icon, her legacy is woven into the fabric of our history,” they also said. “Her fight for justice will continue to inspire generations. Rest in power, hermana.”
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