Dolores Huerta has dedicated her life to improving working conditions in America.
When she saw the students of farm workers in her community come to school hungry, she helped lead voter registration drives and advocate for better conditions. When she saw those workers lose their income after they were injured on the job, she successfully fought to secure them disability insurance. And when grape growers in California refused to pay their workers minimum wage, she helped found the United Farm Workers of America and led a nationwide nonviolent boycott that eventually won them the right to collectively organize and win better wages.
In 2011, President recognized Huerta’s legacy with The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. And today, at 89, she still continues her empowering work—speaking to students about the need for grassroots change and social justice.
On
#LaborDay, we recognize changemakers like her.
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