SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed April 10, 2026, as Dolores Huerta Day, honoring the longtime labor and civil rights leader as “a powerhouse for working people, civil rights, and justice.”
According to Newsom’s proclamation, Huerta was born April 10, 1930, in the small mining town of Dawson, New Mexico, and spent much of her early life in California’s Central Valley. It was there, the proclamation said, that she discovered her “passion for fighting for the rights of workers and their families.” Newsom highlighted her role in pioneering a farm labor movement whose impact continues today.
In the proclamation, Newsom described Huerta’s early work as a schoolteacher in an agricultural community in Stockton. “Huerta often saw her students come to class hungry. The experience moved her to serve as a Community Service Organization leader.” She co-founded the Stockton chapter in 1955, where she worked to improve voting access and economic conditions for Latinos.
The proclamation stated that Huerta later formed the Agricultural Workers Association, “where she organized voter registration drives and pushed for neighborhood improvements.”
According to Newsom’s proclamation, Huerta also co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez in 1962, an organization that united farmworkers in the fight for better working conditions. It later became a predecessor to the United Farm Workers, which she helped found alongside Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and other labor leaders and activists.
In the proclamation, Newsom called Huerta “a skilled political strategist and negotiator who was integral to the movement’s successes.”
He also highlighted her role in organizing the Delano grape boycott and worker strike in 1965. Huerta served as lead negotiator in securing the first farmworker union contracts and helped pave the way for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the first law in the United States allowing farmworkers to collectively organize and bargain.
“Over the years, Huerta has demonstrated the bravery to prioritize the principles of the movement she co-founded and the strength of the community behind it,” Newsom said.
Newsom also detailed the challenges Huerta faced throughout her career, including police brutality, violence, sexism and racism. “Huerta has always been relentless in her lifelong pursuit of justice, showing extraordinary resilience.”
Her decades of activism have earned her numerous honors. According to the proclamation, Huerta was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993, becoming the first Latina to receive that distinction. In 1998, she received the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, followed by the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. She was also inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2013.
In his proclamation, Newsom said, “Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she continues her tireless work advocating for marginalized communities and teaching the next generation of organizers to empower others and drive social change.”
He concluded, saying, “As we celebrate Dolores Huerta’s contributions to the labor, civil rights, and women’s movements, I urge all Californians to take inspiration from her example and work to make a positive impact in our communities.”
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