Dolores Huerta, a celebrated labor Leader and civil rights icon, is pictured here. —Amanda Edwards—Getty ImagesDolores Huerta, who co-founded what became known as the United Farm Workers union to help secure better pay for laborers, has died at age 96.In a statement shared through her foundation, Huerta’s team said she passed away on Wednesday at home in Bakersfield, California, “surrounded by her close family.”Huerta, who campaigned for the rights of migrant laborers throughout the 1960s and 70s, is credited with coining the rallying cry “Sí, se puede”—“Yes, we can.” The phrase inspired generations and was famously adopted by former President Barack Obama, who presented Huerta with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.“One of the few women lobbyists of her era, [Dolores] became a formidable advocate for people who could not afford one,” reads the obituary shared by Huerta’s foundation. “Her legislative victories included a California measure allowing driver’s license examinations in Spanish, the extension of Aid to Families with Dependent Children to California farmworker families, and disability insurance protections for agricultural workers.”Huerta founded United Farm workers with Cesar Chavez in 1962 and served as its vice president for almost four decades. She worked closely with Chavez until his death in 1993. Earlier this year, Huerta came forward with allegations against Chavez, accusing him of having sexually abused her in the 1960s. “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here,” said Huerta in a statement in March. Huerta said she was driven to share her experiences after an investigation released by the New York Times revealed accusations that Chavez, a long-celebrated icon of the labor movement, groomed and sexually abused multiple girls and women who worked in the movement, including Huerta.Huerta said she had "carried this secret" for so long because she feared speaking out would compromise her life’s work and risk all the progress made for laborers.“The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way. I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights," she explained.This is a developing story and will be updated.