Dolores Huerta and farmworkers overshadowed by Cesar Chavez finally get their due
Photo by Thomas Peipert/AP
Community News
By Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Mike Matejka
April 1, 2026
This Article was originally published on April 1, 2026, by The Chicago Sun-Times.
Chavez was the public figure, but Huerta and farmworkers across America, including in Illinois, also carried the farm labor movement.
As someone who was personally involved with the United Farm Workers and met with Cesar Chavez, the heartbreaking and disgusting stories about the union’s co-founder are revolting and deeply troubling. The abuse and rape allegations against the now departed Chavez deserve full treatment and exposure.
The New York Times thoroughly reported the union leadership’s chauvinism and the allegations that were ignored to protect the leader and the movement.
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta said in a statement published by The New York Times: “I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied. I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
An undated photo of Mike Matejka and his wife, Kari Sandhaas, with United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta (center).
Huerta is correct. The emphasis should be on the workers, especially the women, who deserve a full voice and deep respect. Every movement, no matter how valiant or aspirational, should reflect its values both internally and externally. Chavez and the union’s leadership team failed, and there is no excuse.
The farmworker movement brought national attention to the too often forgotten farmworkers, the people whose hard labor fills our tables. Huerta is a critical voice, and it is painful to learn about the secrets that troubled her soul as she rallied the nation for human rights. The farmworkers’ struggle for human decency inspired and shaped my young adult years.
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