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Dolores Huerta
¡Sí, se puede!
Dolores Huerta & Environmental Justice
by Valeria Yraita-Zevallos
“¡Sí, Se Puede!” is the slogan often attributed to Cesar Chavez and the farm worker’s movement of the 1960s. However, the slogan “Yes, we can!” was created by activist, Dolores Huerta. Although both figures played a pivotal role in the fight for the rights of farm workers and their families in California and beyond, the intersectional activism by Dolores Huerta is often overlooked. Today, we will explore the life and social justice work of Dolores Huerta who fought for labor and women’s rights, intertwined with environmental activism.
Dolores Huerta was born on April 10th, 1930, in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico. When Huerta was three years old her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and two brothers to Stockton, California [1]. Nevertheless, both of her parents influenced her activist personality. Huerta’s father, Juan Fernández, was a union activist, miner, and farm worker; winning a seat in the New Mexico legislation in 1938 [2]. Huerta’s mother, Alicia Fernandez, had multiple jobs until she was able to open a small hotel and restaurant. Within her small hotel, Alicia offered affordable rates in her hotel to low-wage workers and often waived fees for them [3]. Moreover, Alicia was involved in numerous civic organizations in Stockton, showing Huerta the power of a strong independent woman. Learning about the activism of her father and witnessing the strength of her mother shaped Huerta’s future aspirations to help her community and marginalized people.
Before her serious involvement in what became the farm worker’s movement, Huerta received an associate teaching degree from the University of the Pacific’s Delta College [4]. It was during her time as a teacher near her hometown that she felt a need to fight for the local farm workers. While working as a teacher, Huerta witnessed children coming into her school hungry and living in poor conditions, many of whom came from families of farmers and Hispanic Americans [5]. This led Huerta to become more involved in her community and co-found the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO) chapter to increase voter registration and advocate for economic improvements for these workers [6].
Huerta founded the Agricultural Worker’s Association, and that is where she met Cesar Chavez. In 1962, Huerta and Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later turned into the United Farm Workers (UFW), where Vice President Huerta led as the only woman on the executive board until 1999 [7]. Many agricultural unions and committees reached out to Huerta and Chavez to lead a strike by “Filipino and Chicano workers in the grape industry in Delano, California” [8]. Huerta helped organize the Grape Worker strike and was able to recruit 5,000 grape workers across California [9]. Alongside the strikers, the union led a boycott of the wines made from the California grape farms; leading sales to go down 22% in 1968, “representing a decline of $8.5 million” [10]. Nevertheless, alongside Huerta’s advocacy for safer working conditions for farm workers, she was also outspoken on addressing the need to ban the use of harmful pesticides such as DDT to protect both the workers and the environment. It was coming to light that the pesticides used in these fields exposed pickers to pesticide poisoning and overall led the families of farmworkers to “experience high rates of birth defects, cancer, and life-threatening burns”[11][12]. Thus, the UFW’s main concern became the health of farm workers and protecting the environment; leading the UFW to collaborate with environmental organizations to demand a federal ban on DDT and other toxic pesticides [13].
In 1969, the UFW alongside the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and California Legal Assistance joined forces to sue the USDA for their limited pesticide control in farms and to pressure Governor Reagan’s administration to ban DDT [14]. Through this new coalition, others followed suit such as the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Friends of Earth, and others. Thus, the farmer’s movement turned into an environmental protection pursuit [15]. The coalitions and Huerta’s negotiation skills allowed for a union contract to be achieved in 1970 out of these strikes and the banning of these “hard pesticides” in 1972 [16]. This movement by the UFW is one of the first that brought the importance of protecting the environment alongside human rights into mainstream media [17].
This further influenced Huerta to lead a consumer boycott in 1972 that led to the passing of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, “which allowed farm workers to form unions and bargain for better wages and conditions” [18]. Nevertheless, Huerta slowly began to advocate for gender equality and women’s rights within the farmer’s movement. Huerta was known to often argue with Cesar Chavez on the priorities of the UFW as she believed that “child care, protection from sexual harassment, and gender equality policies were critical to the survival of the entire [farming] industry” [19]. In a 2017 interview, Huerta emphasized, “Number one, this is Mother Earth and we are supposed to protect Mother Earth. We’re supposed to make sure that the food we eat is safe…We can think about what an obscenity that is and the cruelty that was visited upon the farm workers, especially the women. [20]” Thus across the work of Huerta from the early 1950s into her adult life today, she has made it a point to fight for both human rights and environmental protection, pioneering the intersectional strategies of the environmental justice movement.
Despite the positive change Huerta has achieved in her career and via the UFW, she faced multiple attacks on her person; from being arrested when protesting to being severely beaten in 1988 when she was protesting against harmful pesticides that continued to be used on crops after the 1972 ban [21]. After this attack, Huerta focused on working behind the scenes on these social justice and environmental issues; leading her to create the Dolores Huerta Foundation in 2002 [22]. Huerta’s foundation focuses on grassroots organizing, registering people to vote, uplifting Latinos to run for office, fighting for education equity, environmentalism, and more [23]. At 94 years old, Dolores Huerta continues to be active through her foundation, in politics, and with non-profits. Huerta has achieved notable distinctions from receiving the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998 to the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 to more recognitions throughout the years; all a display of her hard work and activism during her life.
The work is not over for Huerta as she continues to, “travel across the country engaging in campaigns and influencing legislation that supports equality and defends civil rights” [24]. Her life and legacy are proof of these words: “¡Sí, Se Puede!”
Bibliography
Aleman, Victor. n.d. “Walter P. Reuther Library United Farm Workers Exhibit.” Walter P. Reuther Library United Farm Workers Exhibit. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://reuther.wayne.edu/ex/exhibits/fw/pesticide.html.
Bernstein, Shana. 2023. “Perspective | Unions can help beyond their membership. César Chávez proved it.” Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/01/30/history-3m-cesar-chavez-pesticides-unions/.
“Dolores Huerta, renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez.” n.d. Dolores Huerta Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/.
Gordon, Robert. “Poisons in the Fields: The United Farm Workers, Pesticides, and Environmental Politics.” Pacific Historical Review 68, no. 1 (1999): 51–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3641869.
Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta.
Pandona, Grower J. n.d. “Life Story: Dolores Huerta - Women & the American Story.” Women & the American Story. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/growing-tensions/dolores-huerta/.
Rampell, Ed. 2017. “In Conversation with Dolores Huerta.” Earth Island Journal. https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/conversation_dolores_huerta/##.
Wozniacka, Gosia, Brian DeVore, David Cook, Tilde Herrera, Nina Elkadi, Ayurella Horn, and Kate Nelson. 2022. “What the Story of DDT, America's Most Notorious Chemical, Can Teach Us Today.” Civil Eats. https://civileats.com/2022/07/06/ddt-elena-conis-pesticides-health-farmworkers-chemicals-safety-regulation/.
[1] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta.
[2] “Dolores Huerta, renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez.” n.d. Dolores Huerta Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/.
[3] “Dolores Huerta, renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez.” n.d. Dolores Huerta Foundation.
[4] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024.
[5] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024.
[6] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta.
[7] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024.
[8] Pandona, Grower J. n.d. “Life Story: Dolores Huerta - Women & the American Story.” Women & the American Story. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/growing-tensions/dolores-huerta/.
[9] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024.
[10] Gordon, Robert. “Poisons in the Fields: The United Farm Workers, Pesticides, and Environmental Politics.” Pacific Historical Review 68, no. 1 (1999): 51–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3641869.
[11] Gordon, Robert. “Poisons in the Fields: The United Farm Workers, Pesticides, and Environmental Politics.” Pacific Historical Review 68, no. 1 (1999): 51–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3641869.
[12] Aleman, Victor. n.d. “Walter P. Reuther Library United Farm Workers Exhibit.” Walter P. Reuther Library United Farm Workers Exhibit. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://reuther.wayne.edu/ex/exhibits/fw/pesticide.html.
[13] Gordon, Robert. “Poisons in the Fields: The United Farm Workers, Pesticides, and Environmental Politics.”
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Wozniacka, Gosia, Brian DeVore, David Cook, Tilde Herrera, Nina Elkadi, Ayurella Horn, and Kate Nelson. 2022. “What the Story of DDT, America's Most Notorious Chemical, Can Teach Us Today.” Civil Eats. https://civileats.com/2022/07/06/ddt-elena-conis-pesticides-health-farmworkers-chemicals-safety-regulation/.
[17] Wozniacka, Gosia, Brian DeVore, David Cook, Tilde Herrera, Nina Elkadi, Ayurella Horn, and Kate Nelson. 2022. “What the Story of DDT, America's Most Notorious Chemical, Can Teach Us Today.” Civil Eats.
[18] Michals, Debra. n.d. “Dolores Huerta Biography.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta.
[19] Pandona, Grower J. n.d. “Life Story: Dolores Huerta - Women & the American Story.” Women & the American Story. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/growing-tensions/dolores-huerta/.
[20] Rampell, Ed. 2017. “In Conversation with Dolores Huerta.” Earth Island Journal. https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/conversation_dolores_huerta/##.
[21] “Dolores Huerta, renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez.” n.d. Dolores Huerta Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/.
[23]“Dolores Huerta, renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez.” n.d. Dolores Huerta Foundation.
[24] Ibid.
transcripción en español
“¡Sí, Se Puede!”, es el lema que a menudo se atribuye a César Chávez y al movimiento de trabajadores agrícolas de los años 1960. Sin embargo, el lema “Sí se puede”, fue creado por la activista Dolores Huerta. Aunque ambas figuras desempeñaron un papel fundamental en la lucha por los derechos de los trabajadores agrícolas y sus familias en California y más allá, a menudo se pasa por alto el activismo interseccional de Dolores Huerta. Hoy exploraremos la vida y el trabajo por la justicia social de Dolores Huerta, quien luchó por los derechos laborales y de las mujeres, entrelazados con el activismo ambiental.
Dolores Huerta nació el 10 de abril de 1930 en el pueblo minero de Dawson, Nuevo México. Cuando Huerta tenía tres años sus padres se divorciaron y ella se mudó con su madre y sus dos hermanos a Stockton, California. Sin embargo, sus dos padres influyeron a Huerta por sus personalidades activistas. El padre de Huerta, Juan Fernández, era activista sindical, minero y trabajador agrícola; ganando un escaño en la legislación de Nuevo México en 1938. La madre de Huerta, Alicia Fernández, tuvo múltiples trabajos hasta que pudo abrir un pequeño hotel y restaurante. Dentro de su pequeño hotel, Alicia ofrecía tarifas baratas a trabajadores con salarios bajos y, a menudo. Además, Alicia estuvo involucrada en numerosas organizaciones cívicas en Stockton; mostrándole a Huerta el poder de una mujer fuerte e independiente. Aprender sobre el activismo de su padre y ser testigo de la fortaleza de su madre fue lo que moldeó las aspiraciones futuras de Huerta de ayudar a su comunidad y a las personas marginadas.
Antes de involucrarse seriamente en lo que se convirtió en el movimiento de trabajadores agrícolas, Huerta recibió un título de profesora asociada del Delta College de la Universidad del Pacífico. Fue durante su época como maestra cerca de su ciudad natal que sintió la necesidad de luchar por los trabajadores agrícolas locales. Mientras trabajaba como maestra, Huerta fue testigo de cómo niños llegaban a su escuela hambrientos y vivían en malas condiciones, muchos de los cuales provenían de familias de agricultores e hispanoamericanos. Esto llevó a Huerta a involucrarse más en su comunidad y cofundar el capítulo de la Organización de Servicio Comunitario (CSO) de Stockton para aumentar el registro de votantes y abogar por mejores pagos para los trabajadores agrícolas .
Huerta fundó la Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas y allí conoció a César Chávez. En 1962, Huerta y Chávez fundaron la Asociación Nacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas (NFWA), que luego se convirtió en la Unión de Trabajadores Agrícolas (UFW), donde Huerta dirigió como vicepresidenta y la única mujer en la junta ejecutiva hasta 1999. Muchos sindicatos y comités agrícolas alcanzaron a Huerta y Chávez para organizar una huelga de “trabajadores filipinos y chicanos en la industria de la uva en Delano, California”. Huerta ayudó a organizar la huelga de los trabajadores de la uva y pudo reclutar a 5.000 trabajadores de la uva en toda California. Junto a los huelguistas, el sindicato encabezó un boicot a los vinos elaborados en las fincas de uva de California; lo que llevó a que las ventas disminuyeran un 22% en 1968, “lo que representa una disminución de 8,5 millones de dólares”. Sin embargo, junto con la defensa de condiciones laborales más seguras para los trabajadores agrícolas, Huerta también fue franca al abordar la necesidad de prohibir el uso de pesticidas dañinos como el DDT para proteger tanto a los trabajadores como al medio ambiente. Durante este tiempo, estaba saliendo a la luz que los pesticidas utilizados en estos campos exponían a los recolectores a envenenamiento por pesticidas y, en general, llevaban a las familias de los trabajadores agrícolas a “experimentar altas tasas de defectos de nacimiento, cáncer y quemaduras potencialmente mortales”. Así, la principal preocupación de la UFW pasó a ser la salud de los trabajadores agrícolas y la protección del medio ambiente; llevando a la UFW a colaborar con organizaciones ambientalistas para exigir una prohibición federal del DDT y otros pesticidas tóxicos.
En 1969, la UFW, junto con el Fondo de Defensa Ambiental (EDF) y la Asistencia Legal de California, unieron fuerzas para demandar al USDA por su control limitado de pesticidas en las granjas y para presionar a la administración del gobernador Reagan para que prohibiera el DDT. A través de esta nueva coalición, otros siguieron su ejemplo, como el Sierra Club, la Sociedad Audubon, Amigos de la Tierra y otros. Así, el movimiento campesino se convirtió en una búsqueda de protección ambiental. Las coaliciones y las habilidades de negociación de Huerta permitieron que se lograra un contrato sindical en 1970 a partir de estas huelgas y la prohibición de estos “pesticidas duros” en 1972. Este movimiento de la UFW es uno de los primeros que destacó la importancia de proteger el medio ambiente. junto con los derechos humanos en los principales medios de comunicación.
Esto influyó aún más en Huerta para liderar un boicot de consumidores en 1972 que condujo a la aprobación de la Ley de Relaciones Laborales Agrícolas de California de 1975, “que permitió a los trabajadores agrícolas formar sindicatos y negociar mejores salarios y condiciones”. Sin embargo, poco a poco Huerta comenzó a abogar por la igualdad de género y los derechos de las mujeres dentro del movimiento campesino. Se sabía que Huerta discutía a menudo con César Chávez sobre las prioridades de la UFW, ya que ella creía firmemente que “el cuidado infantil, la protección contra el acoso sexual y las políticas de igualdad de género eran fundamentales para la supervivencia de toda la industria [agrícola]”. En una entrevista de 2017, Huerta enfatizó: “Número uno, esta es la Madre Tierra y se supone que debemos proteger a la Madre Tierra. Se supone que debemos asegurarnos de que los alimentos que comemos sean seguros... Podemos pensar en la obscenidad que es y en la crueldad que sufrieron los trabajadores agrícolas, especialmente las mujeres”. Por lo tanto, a lo largo del trabajo de Huerta desde principios de la década de 1950 hasta su vida adulta actual, ella se ha propuesto luchar tanto por los derechos humanos como por la protección ambiental, siendo pionera en las estrategias interseccionales del movimiento por la justicia ambiental.
A pesar del cambio positivo que Huerta ha logrado en su carrera y a través de la UFW, enfrentó múltiples ataques a su persona; desde ser arrestada mientras protestaba hasta ser brutalmente golpeada en 1988 cuando protestaba contra los pesticidas dañinos que seguían utilizándose en los cultivos después de la prohibición de 1972. Después de este ataque, Huerta se centró en trabajar en temas de justicia social y medio ambiente; lo que la llevó a crear su fundación “Dolores Huerta Foundation” en 2002. La fundación de Huerta se enfoca en enseñar a comunidades como empezar un movimiento político comunitario, registrar personas para votar, animar a los latinos a postularse para cargos públicos, luchar por la equidad educativa, el ambientalismo y más. A sus 94 años, Dolores Huerta continúa activa a través de su fundación, en la política y en organizaciones sin fines de lucro. Huerta ha logrado distinciones notables desde recibir el Premio Eleanor Roosevelt de Derechos Humanos en 1998 hasta la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad en 2012 y más reconocimientos a lo largo de los años; toda una muestra de su arduo trabajo y activismo durante su vida.
El trabajo no ha terminado para Huerta, ya que continúa “viajando por todo el país participando en campañas e influyendo legislación que apoya la igualdad y defiende los derechos civiles”. Su vida y legado son prueba de las palabras: “¡Si, Se Puede!”
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