Governor Newsom names new California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Building after Labor and Civil Rights Icon Dolores Huerta
What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he is naming the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Building in honor of pioneering labor leader Dolores Huerta.
SACRAMENTO — Today, Governor Newsom announced that California’s new Labor and Workforce Development Agency Building will be formally named in honor of Dolores Huerta — the late labor leader, civil rights activist, and member of the California Hall of Fame.
Dolores Huerta’s legacy is inseparable from the story of California’s labor movement. She stood shoulder to shoulder with farmworkers, helped build powerful unions, and fought to make sure working people had a voice, a seat at the table, and the dignity they deserved. Naming California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency Building in her honor is a lasting tribute to that legacy and a reminder that we have a responsibility to carry forward the progress she helped win for workers across this state. Every person who walks through those doors should be reminded of the standard she set: stand up for workers, expand opportunity, and keep pushing until people get the respect they deserve.
Governor Gavin Newsom
California’s new Labor and Workforce Development Agency Building officially opened on January 21, 2026. Images of the building are available here.
“Dolores Huerta lived a life of service with an unrelenting commitment to justice and the dignity of all people,” said Stewart Knox, California Secretary of Labor. “We owe her an immeasurable debt of gratitude for her tireless advocacy on behalf of farmworkers and working families across the nation. Every person who walks through the doors of this building will be reminded of her enduring legacy and the mission she left for us all — to continue to build a more just and equitable future.”
Governor Newsom and First Partner Siebel Newsom issued a statement on the passing of Dolores Huerta, available here.
The building houses approximately 2,500 state employees from the Labor & Workforce Development Agency, Employment Development Department (EDD), Department of Industrial Relations, and the California Workforce Development Board.