California governor signs Assemblyman Bonta's bill for Larry Itliong Day

Larry Itliong

ON OCT. 25, California's school children will hear about Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong.

California's Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB7 into law July 1. AB7, introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland). The bill requires the governor to proclaim Oct. 25 as "Larry Itliong Day," and would encouraged public schools to teach about Itliong's historic role in organizing farm workers.

“Larry Itliong is a hero not only to Filipino Americans and Filipinos in the diaspora, not only to all Californians and Americans who fight for socioeconomic and racial justice, but also to his surviving family,” said Johnny Itliong, one of Larry Itliong’s children and director of the Larry Itliong Foundation for Education, in a statement. 

“I’ve spent many years asking when people would recognize what the manongs have done….This means a lot to the countless immigrant youth who know first-hand the meaning not only of struggle but also the value of self-advocacy.”

Itliong was one of the leaders of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a union fighting for the rights of farmworkers. Led by Itliong, AWOC, primarily composed of Filipino field workers, was the first union to strike for improved wages and working conditions in Delano in 1965, launching the California farm labor movement. 

AWOC's strike pushed the larger and Mexican-dominated National Farm Workers Association into action. Led by Cesar Chávez and Dolores Huerta, the NFW and the Itliong-led AWOC to form the United Farm Workers of America. The UFW launched boycotts against grapes and lettuce that were successful in forcing growers to negotiate a contract for better wages and working conditions.

RELATED: California Assembly unanimously passes bill for Larry Itliong Day

“While the farm labor movement is often seen predominantly as a Latino movement, the movement encompassed much more than just one ethnic group. Filipino American and Latino labor leaders built a beautiful collaborative relationship to create the farm worker movement in California, and Larry Itliong played a critical leadership role in that movement. I’m grateful to have this opportunity to recognize his contributions to California and am thrilled that Governor Brown understands the important role Itliong played in California history,” said Bonta.

The recent fmotion picture Cesar, about Cesar Chavez and the UFW, omitted, or downplayed, any mention of the part played by Filipino Americans in the labor movement. That glaring omission was roundly criticized by historians and the Filipino American community. In the credits, you could see Filipinos playing the role of real Filipino individuals but their names or their contributions were not mentioned in the movie. Mainly, they stood in the background.

As the first and only Filipino American ever elected to the California State Assembly in the history of the state, Bonta is committed to ensuring that the Filipino American experience is accurately reflected in California history. Bonta's parents were farm workers and were active in union organizing.

One of his first acts after winning election to the Assembly was to introduce AB123 to provide students with a more complete account of California's farm labor movement and ensure that Filipino American leaders are remembered by future generations of Californians. 

"I was thrilled that Governor Brown signed my AB123 during my first year in the Assembly. The incredible and transformative contributions of Filipino Americans to our state have been missing from our history books for too long, and it's encouraging that this more complete story will now be told in our classrooms," said Bonta. "Now, with the addition of AB7, I am confident that within the next few years, these contributions will be more commonly known as a critical part of the rich and vibrant collective history of our state." 

Larry Itliong (in sunglasses) and Cesar Chavez (right of Itliong) led the California farm laborer's unions. 

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