Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers co-founder who accused César Chavez of sex abuse, dead at 96

Dolores Huerta, the pioneering labor activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union and spent decades fighting for better working conditions for America's agricultural workers, has died. She was 96. Huerta died at her home on Wednesday in Bakersfield, California, surrounded by her close family, her foundation announced. Born in New Mexico and raised by a single mother in California's San Joaquin Valley, Huerta began her career as a schoolteacher before helping establish a local chapter of a grassroots organization that challenged segregation and police brutality. Eventually, her focus turned to labor organizing, and together with Cesar Chavez, whom she'd later accuse of sexual abuse, she built the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. Four years later, that association merged with another organization to form the United Farm Workers union. Six decades after its founding, the United Farm Workers remains the nation's longest-standing labor union representing agricultural workers. Huerta herself was one of the most enduring and influential labor leaders in the country, becoming known for her rallying cry, "Sí, se puede!" In English, the slogan translates to "Yes, it can be done," reflecting her sincere belief that ordinary people can affect political change. Beyond her work to improve the lives of those working in America's fruit and vegetable fields, many of whom are immigrants, Huerta became a prominent civil rights and women's rights advocate, combating discrimination and fighting for gender equality in a labor movement that was dominated by men at the time. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.