Labor leader a 'role model' for women (co-founder of United Farm Workers)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8425410

By Roxana Orellana
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 03/02/2008 12:50:58 AM MST

Chicana labor leader Dolores Huerta knows a thing or two about social change.

In more than 40 years of community activism, she has fought for the rights of poor farmworkers and their families. The co-founder of United Farm Workers made history in the mid-1960s as a single mother who helped negotiate a farmworker contract with an agricultural corporation for the first time in the nation's history.

Working with labor leader Cesar Chavez, she also helped create the first medical and pension plans and credit union for poor workers.

"We thought she was a fantastic role model of a woman who is not just running for government per se but who is making change at a more grass-roots level," University of Utah spokeswoman Taunya Dressler said.

The U. invited Huerta, 77, to be the keynote speaker during its 2008 Women's Week Celebration because she embodies passion for change that affects people's lives.

"It's extremely important . We need women to take their place in the world," Huerta said in a telephone interview. "Women are the ones who define the tradition for the family and if the woman gets involved, the whole family gets involved."

This year's Women's Week theme, "Political is Personal: Activism Embodied," encourages Utah women to determine what's important and engage themselves in a cause.

FULL story at link.