[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12155-12156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   HONORING THE NATION'S PREMIER LATINA LABOR LEADER, DOLORES HUERTA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of our Nation's 
premier Latino labor leaders, Dolores Huerta.
  Growing up in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Southern 
California, I often looked to my community leaders for lessons in how 
to live and how to treat other people. One of the most influential role 
models continues to be Dolores Huerta, preeminent civil rights leader 
who has fought for the rights of underserved laborers for more than 40 
years.
  Born in Dawson, New Mexico, on April 10, 1930, Dolores Huerta was

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raised along with her four siblings in the San Jaoquin Valley town of 
Stockton, California. While there, she witnessed firsthand the poverty 
that local farm workers endured, but also saw the generosity her mother 
showed them in the form of free meals and lodging.
  Although she earned a teaching degree from Stockton College, Dolores 
Huerta left the profession because she could not stand to see her 
students, children of farm workers, arrive at school hungry, without 
shoes and food. Rather than just teach, she decided to organize the 
farm workers to help them fight for their civil rights as well. So in 
1955 she founded the Stockton chapter of the Community Service 
Organization, a community organization designed to educate, organize, 
and assist these poor families.
  Her dedication to farm workers continued and, in 1962, Dolores Huerta 
joined with Cesar Chavez to establish the National Farm Workers 
Association. The group was a precursor to the United Farm Worker 
Organizing Committee, for which she served as secretary-treasurer.
  But Dolores Huerta has done much more than just organize farm 
workers. She has also fought for health benefits, higher wages, and 
disability insurance for those people who work in the fields. Without 
her, today's farm workers would not enjoy the fair treatment and safe 
working standards that they enjoy now in the State of California.
  Dolores Huerta's dedication, though, is not just confined to farm 
workers. She fought hard for the rights that we all hold dear, women's 
rights, environmental justice, civil rights, and free speech. In fact, 
in the 1960s, Dolores Huerta launched a campaign for environmental 
justice. She began to advocate against the use of toxic pesticides that 
harmed farm workers and consumers. Her vehement lobbying and organizing 
led growers to finally stop using dangerous pesticides such as DDT and 
Parathyon in their fields.
  Dolores Huerta has also been visible in the political spectrum. As a 
legislative advocate for the labor movement, she has led farm worker 
campaigns and various political causes. In fact, she is probably most 
remembered standing beside Robert F. Kennedy as he acknowledged her 
help in winning the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary 
moments before he was shot in Los Angeles.
  She has also worked tirelessly to make sure that all people, 
including those that only speak Spanish, have the opportunity to be 
heard. She has helped to establish Spanish language radio 
communications organizations with five Spanish radio stations, and has 
participated in numerous protests to highlight the plight of farm 
workers throughout the country. Although most of those demonstrations 
were peaceful, Dolores Huerta herself has endured physical harm and 
more than 20 arrests for peacefully exercising her right of free 
speech.
  Her dedication to farm workers and people of color across America has 
earned her numerous accolades, including the American Civil Liberties 
Union Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award, the Eugene Debs Foundation 
Outstanding American Award, the Ellis Island's Medal of Freedom Award, 
and induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
  Today, my colleagues, we have the opportunity to honor Dolores 
Huerta, not only for her unwavering dedication to farm workers but to 
her commitment to creating a better environment for all Americans. This 
resolution that I am presenting today marks the first time in recorded 
history that Congress has chosen to honor a Latina labor leader. I urge 
all my colleagues to support this resolution.

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