Labor leader Delores Huerta, now 95, urges audience to tap into ‘people power’
Famed labor organizer Dolores Huerta gave a keynote lecture and did a Q A at University of San Diego Wednesday evening Oct Photo by Sophia Sleap Times of San Diego Credit Sophia Sleap Dolores Huerta set out to share a message of hope in San Diego People power she noted will triumph The living labor legend delivered those words to hundreds of students and members of the residents who gathered to hear her speak at the University of San Diego s Joan B Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice on Wednesday evening Something good will be coming out of this dark period she explained But we are the ones that have to start forming those policies that we want to make sure that when we come out of this era that we re in right now we re going to come out a lot stronger Sharing lessons from her decades of labor organizing the -year-old Huerta disclosed peace can be achieved within the lifetime of in the present day s young people The key she announced is to organize protest and vote Overcoming opposition She shared the example of the famous grape boycott she led with C sar Ch vez in the s The growers were against us The oil industry was against us The banking industry was against us The governor of California Ronald Reagan was against us The president of the United States of America was against us she commented And we beat all of them She announced the million Americans who joined the boycott across the country in aid of farmworkers made it practicable It was people power People understanding that they had power that they could take action she commented And once you see that you get addicted Huerta gave newest examples of this power in action the boycott of Target that led to a drop in share prices and the resignation of the retailer s CEO and users canceling their Disney subscriptions which helped late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel return to the air after his suspension Within a week within hours they felt the pain The pain is in their wallets she disclosed Huerta also applauded everyone who attended a No Kings rally We ve got to protest and we ve got to march And we do those things that really make a visible difference she announced A call to vote in the special balloting Huerta also urged people to vote yes on Proposition Gov Gavin Newsom s redistricting proposal We re going to have the opportunity to vote to change our voting districts so that we can elect people that care that are more progressive to the Congress she revealed Because it is our Congress right now that is using our tax dollars she explained It s our money our millions of dollars that we need for healthcare that we need for housing that we need for all types of instruction and all types of disability materials etc It s our tax dollars She encouraged people not only to vote yes on Prop but also to organize their relatives neighbors and even their exes to vote Then we can set the groundwork for the elections that are going to happen in she stated Huerta ended the event by leading a chant Who s got the power We ve got the power What kind of power People power
