SECNAV Del Toro Announces Future John Lewis-Class Oiler USNS Dolores Huerta (T-AO 214)

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that the future John Lewis-class oiler, T-AO 205-class, will be named USNS Dolores Huerta (T-AO 214). Del Toro made the announcement during a speaking engagement at the Veteran Affairs Center for Minority Veterans Hispanic Heritage Month Commemorative Event in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18.

The USNS Dolores Huerta will honor Dolores Huerta, a prominent labor leader and civil rights activist instrumental in the farmworkers’ labor movement from the 1950s through the 1990s.

This naming tradition aligns with previous John Lewis-class oilers named after civil rights leaders, such as USNS Thurgood Marshall (T-AO 211), USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg (T-AO 212), and USNS Harriet Tubman (T-AO 213).

“Dolores Huerta has been a leading figure in the Hispanic community and a champion of civil and workers’ rights for over 70 years,” said Secretary Del Toro. “She dedicated her life to advocating for the voiceless and underrepresented. I am honored to announce the next John Lewis-Class fleet replenishment oiler, T-AO 214, will be named USNS Dolores Huerta.”

Huerta began her activism in 1955 by co-founding the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization to promote voter registration and economic opportunities for local Hispanics. In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez, later leading local strikes and national boycotts of lettuce, grapes, and Gallo wine.

From 1988 to 1993, Huerta served on the Commission on Agricultural Workers, which reviewed the impacts of farmworker and immigration legislation. In 2002, she founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering volunteer organizations pursuing social justice.

Huerta has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. President Barack Obama praised her lifelong devotion to advocating for marginalized communities.

The USNS Dolores Huerta will be the tenth ship in the John Lewis Class, named after the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis from Georgia. These ships are designed to supply fuel to the Navy’s operating carrier strike groups, with a capacity of 162,000 barrels of oil and significant dry cargo capacity.