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Dolores Huerta was born on April 10, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico.
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Dolores grew up in Stockton, California with her mother, grandfather, and two brothers. Because of her ethnicity, Dolores faced racism growing up, including being accused of stealing by a teacher as well as witnessing violence against one her brothers.
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Huerta graduated with an associate teaching degree from Pacific's Delta Community College in the early 1950s. As an elementary school teacher, Huerta taught a lot of children of farm workers and saw the poverty and hunger that they experienced. Because of this, Huerta resigned from teaching in order to do something that she felt would be more impactful.
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In 1955, Huerta helped to create the Stockton Chapter of the Community Service Organization, an organization which fought for economic improvements for Hispanics.
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In 1960, Huerta created the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) to help further her cause of gaining rights for farm workers, which included allowing migrant workers without U.S. citizenship to receive public assistance and pensions and creating Spanish-language voting ballots and driver's tests. It was through her work with the AWA that she met Cesar Chavez.
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In 1962, Huerta and Chavez founded the National Farm Workers' Association, which was the predecessor for the United Farm Workers. The two worked together as a team, with Chavez as the leader and speaker and Huerta serving as the negotiator and organizer.
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In 1965, Huerta and Chavez changed the NFWA to the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta was the Vice President.
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Huerta helped to organize the strike of over 5,000 grape workers for wages equal to the federal minimum wage, and the following boycott of the wine company. They used strategies such as boycotts, rallies, marches, and nonviolent resistance. This movement gained national attention for the issues that farm workers faced. They eventually reached a bargaining agreement in 1970.
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The UFW and AWA combined to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. Through this organization, Huerta fought for fair contracts for workers and increased the number of available jobs. She also fought against the use of harmful pesticides and for unemployment and healthcare benefits for agricultural workers.
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Once again, through the UFW, Huerta led rallies, marches, and boycotts to protest the unfair treatment of agricultural workers on grape farms in California, specifically their inability to choose their own union.
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After the contracts from the original grape strike expired, the grape growers began to abuse their power over the farm workers, leading to the second strike organized by the UFW. It ended with the signing of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975.
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Huerta worked with the UFW to convince Governor Jerry Brown to pass the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. This act allowed farm workers to form unions and bargain for better wages and working conditions.
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Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Huerta worked as a lobbyist through her position at the UFW to improve workers' legislation representation.
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In 1993, Huerta was honored by being inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
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In 1999, Huerta stepped down from her position at the UFW. However, her work to improve the lives of workers, immigrants, and women.
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Today, Huerta remains active as a board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, and the President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
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