'Dolores Huerta Is a Friend of Mine'

You see, my parents are farm workers. They work in the fields picking all the delicious food that you and I eat. They've told me wonderful stories about Dolores Huerta, and these stories make me feel as if she's a friend of mine even though I've never met her.

Huerta was a little girl once, just like me. She was born in a mining town in New Mexico. She later moved to the San Joaquin Valley, a place in California where there are many farm workers. I know, because this is where I live.

Huerta got to know about the difficult living conditions of farm workers. They had to travel up and down the state looking for work. Because of this, their children went to many different schools and often worked in the fields with their parents. The work was hard and the pay was poor.

When Huerta grew up, she became a teacher. It made her sad to see children of farm workers come to school hungry and without shoes. Huerta knew from experience that this was not the fault of the children's parents who worked very hard in the fields. She decided to try and do something about it.

Eventually she met a man named César Chávez who was trying to help farm workers too. After a while, they founded what turned into the United Farm Workers of America. Huerta and Chávez talked to the farm workers about joining the UFW.

Sometimes the farm workers had to go on strike. A strike meant that they wouldn't pick any more crops until changes took place. To end the strike, the farm owners had to agree to improve pay and working conditions.

Huerta spoke out about pesticides used on the crops to kill insects because they gave farm workers rashes and caused breathing problems. She helped farm workers get contracts that made the use of these dangerous pesticides illegal. The farm workers got better tools, more breaks during the workday, and a way to complain about unsafe conditions without the fear of being fired.

Huerta has won many awards for her work. She is in the National Women's Hall of Fame.

So you see, that's why Dolores Huerta is a friend of mine. She has made life better for people like my parents and me. For me, she is a very great woman.

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