NPCA Mourns the Loss of Labor Movement Icon and Park Advocate Dolores Huerta

Los Angeles, CA—In 1962, Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which would go on to become the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta spent her life advocating to bring dignity, better working conditions and fair wages to farmworkers in the United States. Victories from the UFW changed farm work forever, from winning the first union medical and retirement benefits to guaranteeing access to clean drinking water.

The story of the farmworker movement belongs in the history told within America’s national parks, and it must be told in full. Earlier this year, when revelations of abuses by Cesar Chavez surfaced, Huerta courageously spoke out about her own painful experiences, called for survivors to be heard and for abuses to be confronted and not hidden or erased.

Huerta worked for many years alongside the National Parks Conservation Association in fights to protect public lands across the California Desert from exploitation, including as an outspoken advocate against the controversial Cadiz Groundwater Extraction project that still threatens to drain sacred springs protected within Mojave Trails National Monument.

Statement from Dennis Arguelles, Southern California Director at the National Parks Conservation Association:

“The loss of Dolores Huerta is felt deeply by those of us who believe in environmental justice for workers and the lands they call home. Huerta spent her life fighting for dignity for farm workers that included the right to a fair wage, safe working conditions and access to clean water. That fight extended to the California Desert, where she stood firmly alongside Tribal Nations and local communities against the decades-long effort by Cadiz, Inc. to drain desert springs for private profit.

“Huerta’s life is a reminder that the farmworker movement was comprised of many diverse leaders, activists and communities that were relentless in the face of injustice. We can honor her legacy by carrying forward her courage, truth-telling, and fierce determination.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org