Governor signs bill giving farmworkers equal overtime rights

CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB1066, the bill that will give equal rights to  farmworkers in terms of overtime pay. It was the right thing to do. Ironically, the signing Monday (Sept. 12) came just a few days after the 51st anniversary of the start of the 1965 Grape Strike (Sept. 9), one of the most significant actions of America's organized labor.

RELATED: Grape Strike anniversary "is our Selma"

For the first time in the nation, farmworkers will get paid overtime if they work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours in a week - just like everybody else.

"With these laws, California farmworkers will have the same overtime protections that workers in other industries have enjoyed for decades," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez as he commended Brown's action.

AB1066, introduced by Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez, would gradually phase in standards by lowering the current 10-hour day to the standard 8-hour day by annual half-hour increments for four years. The 40-hour workweek would be achieved by lowering the 60-hour week in 5-hour steps. Smaller farms would get two extra years to meet the requirement.

Co-author Assembly member Rob Bonta says the bill was well designed, taking business needs into account.  The new law will affect about 400,000 agricultural workers.

An earlier version of the UFW-supported bill failed to win enough Assembly votes for passage with some Democrats, including legislators from liberal, urban districts, not casting a vote or missing from the chamber.

The coalition of Assembly members who did favor the bill, are an example of the changing nature of the state's legislature reflecting the growing diversity of California, mostly baby boomers who grew up during the civil rights and labor movements of the 1960s.

RELATED: Historic bill giving farmworkers overtime equity goes to governor

Giev Kashkooli, legislative director for the United Farm Workers, notes that “Democrats from rural areas all voted ‘yes’ this time. All African/American Assembly members but one voted yes, and all Asian Pacific Islander members but one voted ‘yes’ too.”

Perhaps the biggest change is that among Democrats, especially rural Democrats, are several legislators who come from families of farm workers themselves. They include Joaquin Arambula (Fresno), Rudy Salas (Delano), Luis Alejo (Watsonville) and Eduardo Garcia (Coachella/Imperial Valley). AB1066 itself was written by Lorena Gonzalez (San Diego), whose grandfather was a bracero farm worker, and cosponsored by Rob Bonta (Oakland), a Filipino/American who grew up at the UFW headquarters in La Paz, where his parents were union staff.

“We have to face the fact that racism was a factor when this different standard was established,” says Bonta. “A status quo inertia based on discrimination and exclusion isn’t an okay reason for carrying it forward today.”

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage and overtime standards, but excluded all agricultural workers, the majority of whom at the time were African/American.

In California, the Legislature exempted farmworkers from earning overtime pay in 1941. That prohibition remained unchanged until 1976, when the state Industrial Welfare Commission ordered overtime pay for farmworkers after 10 hours on the job on any single day and 60 hours in a week. Hourly workers in other jobs across the state receive overtime after eight hours a day and 40 hours a week.

###

Historic bill giving farmworkers overtime equity goes to governor

UFW

LARRY ITLIIONG and Cesar Chavez, the late founders of the United Farm Workers, would have been pleased. 

The California Assembly passed AB1066 - the bill that gives farmworkers the same overtime rights as other workers. If signed, it would be the first in the nation. All that it needs to make it a law is Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.

"Proud that the Assembly helped promote more justice, equity, fairness and dignity today by passing overtime for our hard-working and invaluable farmworkers," said Assemblymember Rob Bonta, chair of the API Legislative Caucus. 

Brown hasn't indicated where he stands on the issue. Despite signing the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983, and the former seminarian has frequently mentioned his close friendship with Cesar Chavez, during his current stint as governor, he has sided with agribusiness and vetoed legislation that the UFW supported.

An earlier version of the bill failed to garner enough votes in the Assembly but with a few tweaks that gave small farmers more time to phase in the overtime rules, Ab1066 was able to garner enough votes to pass, 44-32.

“Right now, under current law, we’re telling our farmworkers, ‘You are different than other workers. You are less than other workers. You are less valued and less valuable,’” said Bonta, whose parents organized Central Valley farmworkers for the UFW.

The bill proposes that the state phase in time-and-a-half pay for farm laborers who exceed eight hours in one day by 2022 on large farms and by 2025 for farms with 25 or fewer employees. Like other workers, farmworkers would be paid overtime if they work more than eight hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a week. It would affect about 400,000 agricultural workers. 

"We're asking for equality, eventually. It starts today however,” said Assemblymember Lorena Gonzales, one of the co-authors of AB1066.

To help persuade lawmakers sitting on the fence, the UFW brought hundreds of farmworkers today (Aug, 29) to the Capitol to help lobby for the measure.

Today's agricultural labor force is shifted dramatically since the days of the UFW's birth. It is more overwhelmingly Latino now compared to the 1960s when Filipinos instigated the 1965 Grape Strike. Most of the aged Filipino workers have retired. The Asian farmworkers have had their numbers n bolstered recently by new Hmong and Sikh immigrants in the Central Valley.

California legislators fast for farmworkers' overtime

Assemblyman Rob Bonta

EIGHT HOURS a day is a typical workday for most of us. Forty hours a week is the standard for most workweeks. Anything more than that constitutes overtime with pay commensurate with the extra work.

But ... not for farmworkers!

Amazing, right? It's 2016!

Harvesting your produce, picking your artichokes, tomatoes, fruit, lettuce is hard, backbreaking work. Yet working in the field in California is the only job where overtime is defined as 10 hours a day.

State Assemblyman Rob Bonta joined others in a fasting for farm workers movement — calling for the passage of AB1066, a bill that would expand overtime benefits for farm workers. The proposed legislation would bring farmworkers in line with other workers. It would  define overtime for farmworkers is anything over eight hours a day or more than a 40 hour week.

"It's a long struggle," he told a reporter. Mexican and Filipino farmworkers have worked for justice for all workers he pointed out. "It's going to be a close vote."

If passed, AB 1066 would gradually phase in new standards for farm workers, to lower the current 10-hour work day to eight, and ensure overtime pay when those hours are exceeded. The goal is to put workers in this industry in line with every other hourly job in the state.

An earlier version of the bill failed on the Assembly floor. For smaller family run farms, the new pay structure would be phased in over several years was an added to 1066 to make it more palatable to lawmakers from rural districts.

As legislation seeking fair pay and conditions for farm workers awaits approval on the senate floor, lawmakers across the state took part in a 24-hour fast to rally in support of AB 1066. 

Bonta's parents were union organizers for farmworkers and he was successful in passing legislation in 2014 to include the crucial role played by Filipino farmworkers in the farmworker strikes of the 1960s that led to the creation of the UFW and better working conditions for farmworkers. Last year, he passed a bill for a Larry Itliong Day to honor the Filipino/American union activist.

"It's a way to really bring attention to the fact of, and to the plight of the farm workers, not just on this overtime issue, but obviously on the conditions they are working under and to bring about this need for equality," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, one of the bill's key authors.

The fast harkens back to the fast by Cesar Chavez which successfully brought attention to the working conditions of the Mexican and Filipino farmworkers. 

Wednesday morning the fast was broken with a service at the Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament in Downtown Sacramento. Gonzalez says it was a showcasing to bring awareness to the hardships that farm workers endure on a daily basis.

"It's a small sacrifice to symbolize the huge sacrifice that these workers make every day, to make sure that we have fresh fruits and vegetables on our table," Gonzalez said.

###

Legislators, community react to Trump's proposed ban on immigration from the Philippines

GOP Presidential candiate Donald Trump stirred up a nest of hornets when he announced last week a plan to ban immigration from the Philippines because he perceived it to be a place where terrorists have taken root.

DONALD TRUMP's proposed ban on immigration from the Philippines continues to reverberate through the Asian/American community drawing sharp reactions from members of Congress and the Filipino/American community.

The following is reposted from the AAPI for Hillary website.

Several members of Congress issued the following statementsl:

Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley):

Build a wall. Ban Muslims. Now: ban Filipinos. It’s another ignorant idea from the racist bully who claims he’ll make America great again. America is already gr…eat without your ideas.

During World War Two, Filipino soldiers answered President Roosevelt’s call to action, and fought bravely, and without hesitation, beside our U.S. servicemen, and under the U.S. flag. Clearly, this kind of bravery is inconceivable to this ignoramus. I’ve been fighting for decades for these Filipino veterans to get their due respect, to be reunited with their U.S. family members, and to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. Their sacrifice and service, like everyone of our servicemen, must be revered, not renounced.

Our nation thrives on diversity, community and respect, not division, fear and intolerance. This hateful rhetoric is what led my family and I to be interned. It takes political courage to stand up to fear, and this latest idea exemplifies the ultimate political cowardice.

Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA):

Donald Trump has now expanded his bigoted attacks to include Asian Pacific Americans. Trump announced at a rally in Maine that he is increasing his ban on Muslims to include legal immigrants from “terrorist nations.” Some of the examples he cites include legal immigrants from the Philippines and Pakistan.

As an immigrant from the Asia Pacific region, I find Trump’s newly expanded proposal even more offensive. But it is more than just offensive, it is dangerous. Trump’s racist thinking—“there’s no way of vetting” legal immigrants—is exactly the thinking that caused one of the darkest periods in American history: the internment of over 100,000 Americans because they happened to be of Japanese descent. (And for the record, Trump has stated he might have supported the internment).

Trump’s expanded xenophobic proposal also weakens US national security. America is strong because of our diversity not in spite of it. Having served on active duty, I know that our military is the greatest in the world because we don’t care what color you are, who you love, or what religion you practice. We just care if you can do your duty to our nation with excellence.

Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims dishonored America. By now doubling down and expanding that proposal to include Asian Pacific Americans, Trump again shows that he is unfit to hold the highest office in our land. Trump should have apologized to Muslim Americans long ago. Now he needs to also apologize to Asian Pacific Americans.

RELATED: 

• Trump says he would limit immigration from the Philippines  
• Filipino American anger mounts vs. Trump 

Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam)

Today, I issued the following statement strongly condemning remarks by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump in which he renewed his call for a ban on Muslims entering the country and suggested imposing immigration restrictions on several countries, including the Philippines.

I strongly condemn the most recent reckless comments from Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. In a speech the other day in Maine, he renewed his call for a ban on Muslims and immigration restrictions from a number of countries across the globe, including the Philippines. His comment about banning immigration from the Philippines is reckless and yet another example of why he is not qualified to be our next President. He simply does not understand international relations, or basic facts, nor does he have the temperament to be President.

The Filipino community has made and continues to make contributions to our island and the United States, and serve honorably in the military. Moreover, the Philippines has been a strong partner in counterterrorism operations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. In fact, many experts have pointed to the joint US-Philippine counterterrorism efforts as a model for how to conduct other counterterrorism efforts worldwide. These comments could certainly undermine and jeopardize ongoing US-Philippines counterterrorism efforts. Apparently Presidential candidate Donald Trump wasn’t briefed, or didn’t care to learn, basic facts or any of these salient details. While I have criticized his comments in the past as not being consistent with our culture, these comments go too far. Filipinos are an integral part of our community, and I denounce these recent ridiculous comments. We cannot and we will not ban immigration from the Philippines, a long-time ally and important partner in combating global terrorism. It won’t make us safer and his proposal is simply un-American.

Sadly, Republican leaders on Guam remain silent on this issue. They have refused to denounce their Presidential candidate especially in light of his comments about the Philippines and the broader Filipino community. They should take the lead of other Republicans across the country like Rep. Richard Hanna of New York and Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado in denouncing Donald Trump or going so far as to support Hillary Clinton. I join Senator Nerissa Underwood and urge Guam Republicans to unendorsed Donald Trump and stand with our broader Guam community against these reckless comments.

Statements and reactions from Filipino Americans for Hillary National Leadership Council Leaders:

Rolando Lavarro, Council President, City of Jersey City

First, Donald Trump lied that there were thousands of Muslims dancing on rooftops in Jersey City on 9/11. He promises to build a wall to keep out Mexicans whom he referred to as criminals, drug dealers, and rapists. He wants to stop refugees yearning to breathe free from coming to our teeming shores. He tramples on the grave of Army Capt. Humayun Khan and insults the hero’s family when he calls for a ban on all Muslims. Now, he suggests we should ban immigration from the Philippines. There is simply no end to Trump’s inanities.

As the son of Filipino immigrants, and on behalf of my elders, my manongs and manangs, I am appalled by the outrageous comments of this racist bully. He disregards the countless contributions that Filipino Americans have made to the United States of America, particularly Filipino World War II veterans who fought and died bravely to preserve our freedom and American way of life. He ignores the families and loved ones of those veterans who are applying for citizenship via the current parole program. Once again, Trump puts an exclamation point on his ignorance as he disregards over a century of relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, a country that has been and continues to be one of our nation’s closest allies in that region.

Trump’s temperament and bigotry is not befitting of a President. These latest comments are an insult to the 17,000 Filipino Americans residing in Jersey City, 110,000 living in New Jersey, and over 2.6 million across the country. All good people should be outraged by Trump’s hateful and divisive rhetoric.

We should channel our outrage positively and reject Trump’s prejudiced and erratic way of governing when we vote for the next leader of the greatest nation in the world. On Tuesday, November 8, elect Hillary Clinton, a leader with a world view that appreciates diversity and knows we are stronger when we’re together.

Aries Dela Cruz, Filipino Americans for Hillary National Leadership Council – New York:

Donald Trump’s call for the United States to ban immigrants from the Philippines should disturb Filipino Americans and Asian Americans who are thinking of voting for him. His reckless statements do not embody our values as New Yorkers and as Americans, and shows our community that we must stand together to make sure that he does not become president. Filipinos, who make up the second largest Asian American population in this country, have always been in America, long before this nation was established. We contribute significantly to this country’s healthcare, military and education systems, among many other notable and historic accomplishments. While Donald Trump and the GOP attack Filipinos with divisive and harmful rhetoric, the Democratic Party has enshrined and honored us in their party’s platform with the inclusion of Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong among the warriors for social and economic justice. Our choice in November could not be more clear: We need to elect Hillary Clinton to be our president and commander-in-chief.”

Margie Llorente Gonzales, Filipino Americans for Hillary National Leadership Council – Nevada

Trump blamed an intern for feeding him wrong info about the Philippines. It only proved even further that he does not know anything about the Philippines and Filipinos. He does not care about us at all. Attention, Fil-Am voters!

Kevin M. Acebo, Filipino Americans for Hillary National Leadership Council – California:

The Trump agenda reminds me what the great Pilipino American author, Carlos Bulosan, wrote about during the struggles of our Manongs in the agriculture fields my Golden State in the 1930’s: “I came to know that in many ways it was a crime to be Filipino in California…I feel like a criminal running away from a crime I did not commit. And this crime is that I am a Filipino in America.” What Trump is blind to see as Bulosan also writes: “America is also the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry boy begging for a job and the black body dangling on a tree. America is the illiterate immigrant who is ashamed that the world of books and intellectual opportunities are closed to him. We are all that nameless foreigner, that homeless refugee, that hungry boy, that illiterate immigrant and that lynched black body. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native born or alien, educated or illiterate -We are America!

America, all of us, united for the common good are stronger together, like our Pilipino American families from the day we are born to the day we die, we, together, are able to face whatever comes out way, rising to the occasion. You see that’s the America I know…the America my great grandfather, grandfather and uncles who served our country to protect our freedom in WWI, WWII, the Korean conflict and Vietnam, the America that my parents who worked hard, played by the rules, built their house and sent five children to college never allowing us to forget where we came from serving as a foundation for the future, the America where my kids now see on TV people who look like them, sing like them, paint like them, dance like them, the America where our people are leaders in both labor and business, guardians of young minds of in elementary high school classrooms and healers in our hospital, the America where brilliant, beautiful Pilipino sisters and brothers are only an algorithm away from breathtaking new discoveries in science and technology, and the America a new generation Pilipino American’s committed to pubic service in Washington, D.C., fighting for decency, and the halls of state capitols, county and city governments.

We are stronger together towards a common good…like pamilya — and that my kababayans come November is how we defeat Trump.

CALL TO ACTION

California, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, has put a call to action to #BanTrump and share videos/pictures of our fellow kababayans with a sign that states: “#BawalSiTrump” on social media.

“Trump wants to ban Muslims, ban babies, and now ban Filipinos! Friends, how do YOU say 'Ban Trump'? ‪#BanTrump ‪#BawalSiTrump” – Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland)

E-mail (FilAmsforHillary@gmail.com) your video or tag them on Facebook or Twitter and they will re-post your video on their social media.

Bonta bill to address health and educational disparities among AAPI communities

California Assemblymember Rob Bonta speaks at a press conference on the AHEAD Act.

OAKLAND'S Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D), author of AB 1726, the Accounting for Health and Education in Asian Pacific Islander Demographics Act (with the clever acronym will henceforth be known as the AHEAD Act), issued the following statement last week after holding press conferences in Oakland and Sacramento to call for accurate data collection for all AAPI subgroups.

“Good data drives good policy,” Bonta explained. “One way to get good data is through disaggregation. Disaggregating data means breaking it down into smaller subgroups and assessing specific trends that were previously hidden.

“Certain subgroups within the API community are falling behind on public health and education benchmarks, but these facts are hidden within the broader group statistics. That’s why I’ve introduced the AHEAD Act, to help meet the needs of California’s diverse communities.” 

Gov. Jerry Brown refused to sign a similar bill last year, saying that the state was already collecting that data and the legislation would have created duplication.

RELATED: Health legislation vetoed by governor

Bonta, the only Filipino/American lawmaker in the California legislature, gave an example of how disaggregation drives good public policy decisions. “In 2011, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) in San Jose performed a county health assessment using disaggregated data. That data revealed that Chinese Americans have significantly higher rates of Hepatitis B, which allowed AACI to conduct targeted outreach to Chinese residents. If AB 1726 becomes law, we will have the opportunity to evaluate more accurate data on disease rates, health insurance coverage, and birth and death rates.”

Quyen Dinh, executive director of the South East Asian Resource Action Center, spoke in strong support of the bill at the Oakland press conference. "Diversity and race in America is not something to be afraid of, it’s something to be understood and embraced. Disaggregated data facilitates data-driven, targeted interventions that are a better use of our tax dollars to uplift all of our students, our brothers, our sisters, our cousins.” 

All of these shortcomings can be traced to “outdated data systems” that put all Asians in one category, when in fact there are 23 separate groups, each of them with unique needs.

“We don’t look the same and are not all the same,” said Phong La, former chair of the API Commission, API American Public Affairs Association. “We speak different languages and have different medical needs. We need to figure out who’s where.”

The AHEAD Act is also a top priority for the API Legislative Caucus. Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Carpinteria), Caucus chair, explained his support. “The API community has historically advocated for disaggregated data because we are uniquely diverse and each community has specific needs. Understanding how long certain students are spending in the community college system, figuring out what specific language needs are needed for certain regions, or identifying how specific communities are affected by certain health problems - all of this information is vital and relevant for our work as public servants.”

The Act is also supported by more than 50 API organizations, and is sponsored by the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, and the Asian Pacific Islander Health Forum.

“The AHEAD Act is a great example of what the API community can do when it stands together, united for the common good of the whole group. With accurate data, we will have a clearer picture of who requires assistance, be better positioned to provide needed support for community members who have been left behind, and, together, create a stronger California,” Bonta concluded.

The press conference is below:

###

For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read the AsAm News.

First U.S. school named after Filipino/American heroes

AMS Facebook

Gym class at Alvarado Middlle School reflects the school's diversity.

WHEN LABOR LEADERS Larry Itliong and Phillip Vera Cruz instigated the 1965 Grape Strike in California, more than likely, they never envisioned that one day, a school would be named after them.

This Friday, Dec. 18, Union City's Alvarado Middle School will officially transition to its new name of Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of the history-making Filipino/American heroic figures.

The New Haven Unified School District in the eastern side of San Francisco Bay will have the distinction of being the first district in the country to recognize the efforts and contributions of Filipino/Americans by naming a school in their honor. This historic change highlights the work of the labor movement and the spirit of the United Farm Workers.

It is fitting in that the district’s other middle school is named in honor of Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez, Larry Itliong, and Phillip Vera Cruz, together, worked in collaboration to radically change this country’s labor policies when they formed the United Farm Workers and worked for improved working conditions for farmworkers.

The name change did happen without a struggle. Honoring the labor leaders was first proposed in 1992. The neighborhood surrounding the school is predominantly Filipino/American.

Members of the Latino community protested the name change since the school was named after Juan Bautista Alvarado was a 19th-century Mexican governor when California was part of Mexico.

Supporters of the Itliong-Vera Cruz name pointed out that there was already an elementary school, two streets, a neighborhood and a park named after Alvarado.
Among the speakers on behalf of the name change was Erica Viray-Santos, a San Leandro teacher and former New Haven teacher: “We are not just trying to rename a facility, we are trying to instill a strong sense of self … This is not just Filipino history, it’s American history.”

“This renaming does not divide us but unites us," said a student from James Logan High, where the middle school's students go for 9th grade. "This is history in the making. We are part of this history. I say ‘we’ even though I am not Filipino. I am the people. I am Itliong, I am Vera Cruz.”

The school district finally agreed to the name change but said proponents had to pay the $60,000 cost even though when Chavez was similarly honored the school district footed the bill.

Local political representatives, led by Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle, along with donations from state Sen. Bob Wieckowski and Assemblymembers Bill Quirk and Rob Bonta came up with the funds to pay for the name change.

The dedication ceremony will be held in the school’s gymnasium at 31604 Alvarado Boulevard, starting at 1 p.m. The program will include performances from the school’s Ballet Folklórico dance group, band and choir, Alvarado Elementary School’s Anak Ng Bayan dance group. Members of the Itliong and Vera Cruz families are expected to speak as well as Assemblymember Bonta, a Filipino/American and who sponsored a bill last year declaring every Oct. 25 as Larry Itliong Day in California.

In anticipation of a large community turn out, off-site parking has been arranged in the lot of St. Anne’s Church located at 32223 Cabello St. According to a district press release, a shuttle will transport community members between the parking lot and the school site starting at 12:15 pm with the final shuttle to the ceremony leaving the lot at 1:05 p.m. Shuttles will also be transporting attendees back to the lot after the ceremony.

The ceremony will also be broadcast live, on-line at go.mynhusd.org/icvmsceremony

Visitors are invited to a small celebration after the ceremony in the school’s Multipurpose Room.

The district asks that community members not arrive on site in anticipation of the ceremony before 12:15 pm as school will still be in session.

###

Bill to document disparities in the AAPI Community vetoed by California governor; effort will continue

• CALIFORNIA Assemblymember Rob Bonta, the only Filipino/American member of the state legislature, has had a good year with the legislations that he has introduced benefiting the Asian/American Pacific Islander community. So it was a bit of a surprise to see the bill to collect additional data about the AAPI community vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
• 
  
• Data is critical because government agencies and nonprofits need that information in order to justify the funding of their services.



Assemblymember Rob Bonta
(D) Oakland


Assembly Bill 176 would have uncovered many of the health, social, economic, and educational disparities in the Asian/American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

“This bill started from a simple but powerful idea,” said Bonta during a news conference in San Francisco’s Chinatown last week. “There are more than 23 distinct communities within the Asian American population and 19 within the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. Each of these API communities has different health and educational outcomes and needs.” 

AB 176 passed the Assembly and Senate with just one dissenting vote so Assemblymember Bonta says he was surprised and disappointed that it was not signed by the governor.

Some state agencies already collect this data and this bill would have added the Departments of Industrial Relations, Fair Employment and Housing and Public Health to collect that information.

The proposed legislation acknowledges the diversity (67 different groups) within the AAPI umbrella by expanding the data collection for the groups including, but not limited to, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Thai, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups, including, but not limited to, Fijian and Tongan.

Among the successes this year, Bonta authored the bill declaring Oct. 25 as Larry Itliong Day. That followed a bill in late 2014 that mandated that the role of Filipino/American farmworkers be included in school curricula.

Bonta said that the bill's sponsors will reintroduce a similar measure in next year's legislative session.

"This is an issue that is not going away," said Bonta, "Communities should not be rendered invisible. They should be counted."

###

• 
  
  
  

California bill would put ethnic studies into schools, but the governor hesitates ...

An assembly at a California high school shows the diversity in the state's student body.

GROWING UP in an immigrant household, I remember my parents would always refer to our white neighbors as the "Americans."

This was funny, because my father fought for the U.S. during World War II and defended the Stars and Stripes in Korea and worked for the the city we lived in. How American can you get?

The image they had of themselves were as foreigners - not "Americans."

In school, we were told about our American forefathers, Manifest Destiny, the building of the transcontinental railroad, about grand ideas, inventions and bravery of historical figures, all of whom were European descendants. It's no wonder we held "Americans" in such high regard. No wonder the Euro-Americans hold themselves in such high esteem. They built themselves a society in which all the institutions supported and perpetuated this myth.

A California bill awaiting the governor's signature could dramatically change this single-lens perspective.

Assembly Bill 101 seeks to widen the lens through which history and literature  is taught in California schools. Authored by a coalition of Asian, Latino and black lawmakers, including   Assemblyman Chris Holden, Luis Alejo and Rob Bonta, the potentially game-changing bill  was passed by the Assembly and state Senate and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 8.

If the governor signs the bill, it would the first step in easing a lot of tension America is undergoing because the country's shifting demographics wherein we see the white population shrinking and the communities of color getting larger. By 2040, demographers estimate Euro-Americans would be in the minority in California. 

RELATED: Take an ethnic studies class to understand history

A study by Dr. Christine Sleeter revealed that an alarming gap between the real diversity of California’s students and the people students see, read about and read from in these textbooks. For example, despite our state’s diversity, Dr. Sleeter found that “in history/social science [textbooks], representation of whites ranged from 41-80 percent, African-Americans from 2-28 percent, Latinos from 0-4 percent, American Indians from 1-10 percent, and Asian-Americans from 0-8 percent.” Compare these percentages to the 2014 student demographics in San Diego Unified School District: 23 percent white, 10 percent African-American, 46 percent Latino, .3 percent American Indian and 3 percent Asian-American."

What school children of color learn is that their fathers, grandparents or ancestors have not contributed to the greatness of this country and that they should be grateful that the Euro-Americans have allowed them to enjoy the benefits of being an American. In a state like California where the student body is 75% students of color, shifting the viewpoint would have a powerful impact on their self-image and the way their communities fit in the making of this country.  

Assembly Bill 101 notes:

"Based on the National Education Association (NEA) publication, The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies, the inclusion of ethnic studies in a curriculum has a positive impact on pupils of color. 

"Ethnic studies benefit pupils in observable ways, such as pupils becoming more academically engaged, increasing their performance on academic tests, improving their graduation rates, and developing a sense of self-efficacy and personal empowerment.

AB101 would create a blue-ribbon advisory body to come up with recommendations on how to broaden the state's K-12 curriculum. In its original version, the bill would have mandated the inclusion of ethnic studies in high school.

Huffpost graphic

A 2011 study concluded that a curriculum that integrated ethnic studies into a school’s regular studies is more likely to positively impact students’ racial attitudes than occasional assemblies or erratic programs.

Thandeka K. Chapman & Tricia M. Gallagher-Geurtsen with the California Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education, San Diego regional network, wrote an opinion piece for the San Diego Union Tribune:

"We support AB 101 because developing ethnic studies programs in all of our state’s public high schools is an integral part of cultivating a classroom and social environment that is accepting of diverse cultures and challenges students to become thoughtful consumers of information. It is vital for young people to learn about the many different histories and contributions of Americans, while also feeling like they can change their communities in positive ways. This bill will help close the achievement gap by reducing student truancy, increasing student enrollment, reducing dropout rates and better preparing Californian youth to be college-prepared, career-ready and social-justice oriented."

ACTION ALERT

Unfortunately, the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition says they have heard this bill has lukewarm support by the Governor’s office and with than a week to go, he may veto the bill. Here are two things you can do right now to help passage of AB101:

1. Call Governor Brown at (916) 623-4866
Then dial 1 for English & 4 to speak with a rep. Use/Share this ESN number so we can keep track of how many calls are made.

2. Email Governor Brown:

You can also sign a petition asking the governor to sign AB101

 CLICK HERE

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. 

###

Larry Itliong Day passed by California Assembly

Larry Itliong, an unsung hero of the labor movement, described himself: "I'm a mean son of a bitch."

ONE OF THE UNSUNG heroes of the American labor movement is finally getting some recognition for his union organizing in California's farm fields. Oct. 25, the hero's birthday, is the day chosen when Calfiornia's school children may one day learn about Larry Itliong and the struggle of Filipino migrant workers.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) introduced a bill last winter to recognize the labor leader and have his story incorporated into the state's history textbooks and lesson plans. Assembly Bill 7 was passed by the Assembly on April 10 this year with no opposition. For the full text of AB7, click here.

“Larry Itliong was one of the greatest labor organizers and leaders in California history,” explained Bonta, who is the son of Filipino American farmworkers. “He was a hero not only to the Filipino American community, but to all Californians and Americans who fought and continue to fight for socioeconomic and racial justice in our state and nation. AB 7 properly honors his life’s work and legacy of fighting for justice, opportunity, and equity.”

Growing up in a trailer just a few hundred yards from César Chávez’s home, Bonta watched closely as his parents organized Filipino and Mexican American farm workers, infusing his formative years with first-hand experience of one of the greatest peaceful social, racial, and economic justice movements of all time.

Itliong led the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee which consisted of a majority of Filipino American farm workers. Itliong and many other Filipino American farm workers like Andy Imutan, Philip Vera Cruz, and several others spearheaded the Delano Grape Strike of 1965 in Delano, California, and organized protests against unfair conditions and wages.

As a result of the 1965 grape strike, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and the National Farm Workers Association led by Cesar Chavez merged and became known as the United Farm Workers.

After working alongside Chavez with the UFW movement, Itliong shifted his focus to fight for Filipino American retired farm workers' rights and was instrumental in finding funding for Delano's Agbayani (Heroes') Village, a retirement home for farmworkers. He died

In 2010, the City of Carson, Calfiornia became the first city in the U.S. to officially establish Larry Itliong Day. Other municipalities that have recognized Larry Itliong Day include Elk Grove and Los Angeles County.

Honoring Itliong highlights the collaborative efforts between the Latino and Filipino American communities that continues to this day in the fight for immigration reform.

AAPI Civil Rights Heroes - Larry Itliong from Advancing Justice - ALC on Vimeo.

The growing numbers of Mexican farm workers shifted the attention to Chavez, but there would be no UFW if not for Itliong and the Filipinos.

As veteran California labor writer Dick Meister wrote:

Chavez felt that his group, then called the National Farm Workers Association, wasn't ready to strike itself, but would honor the picket lines of the striking Filipinos. Yet if they were to honor the picket lines of Itliong's group, Chavez' members asked, Why not strike themselves? Why not? And so they did. That became the grape strike of 1965 that drew worldwide attention and support and ultimately led to the unionization, at long last, of California's farm workers. It was Larry Itliong and his Filipino members who started it all, and who played an indispensable role throughout the struggle.

Without them there could not have been a strike. Without them, there could not have been the victory of unionization, without them no right for the incredibly oppressed farm workers to bargain with their employers.

The two labor leaders complemented each other. Chavez was charming and charismatic, but Itliong was from the streets. Often seen chomping on his signature cigar, he lost three fingers in a cannery accident and gained the nickname "7 fingers."

"I have the ability to make that white man know I am just as mean as anybody in this world," he says on the tape to students in 1976, a year before he died at age 63. "I could make him think, and I could make them recognize that I'm a mean son of a bitch in terms of my direction fighting for the rights of Filipinos in this country. Because I feel we are just as good as any of them. I feel we have the same rights as any of them. Because in that Constitution, it said that everybody has equal rights and justice. You've got to make that come about. They are not going to give it to you."

RELATED: Larry Itliong's son honors his father 
A new generation of Filipino American politicians

A new generation of Filipino Americans flex political muscles

Countering the submissive, quiet, passive stereotype

THE POLITICAL SCENE for Filipino Americans has changed dramatically since I covered U.S. politics for the San Francisco-based Philippine News.

Whereas in the 1970s and 1980s the editors and writers of the weekly Filipino-American newspaper used to search high and low for Filipino candidates at any level of government, now there is a plethora of politically-inclined candidates throwing their hats in the ring throughout the country.

I'm sure there are Filipino Republicans, but the vast majority of Filipino Americans are registered as Democrats and the Democratic party has done more to make them feel welcome. The inclination towards Democrats could be attributed to the historical ties Filipinos have had with organized labor in the 1930s through the present time.  From farmworkers and cannery workers to today's hospital workers and technicians, educators and high-tech workers, unions have represented the interests of working Filipinos. 

Their presence and influence in party politics and policy has grown beyond their actual numbers so much so that the Democrats have made them part of their political apparatus in California and Hawaii.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, was reelected to the
 California Assembly. One of his first bills was legislation
to require teaching of the contributions of Filipino
Americans to the farm labor movement.

The Filipino American Democratic Caucus has a list of the Fil-Am Democrats in California who won in last November's elections. It lists not just the elected politicians, but also the people who have joined the local Democratic district committees. A good strong list of leaders and leaders-to-be.

The California Democratic Party is currently conducting the "Research Filipino Leaders (RFL) Project" which is a database collection of all Filipino American elected and appointed officials in the State of California that range from the state, county and local levels of government.

Even though the first Filipino touched California soil in 1587, as crew members of a  Spanish galleon, large numbers of Filipinos didn't arrive in the state until the early 20th century. Politically, Filipino Americans lagged behind their Japanese and Chinese brothers and sisters. It was not until the 1960s when Filipinos made a push for political recognition.

Today, the seeds planted in the 60s, nurtured by subsequent waves of new immigrants are starting to bear fruit for California's Filipino American community. One of the first bills introduced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who represents a diverse district in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay) made it mandatory for teaching the contributions of Filipino farmworkers to the California labor movement. Not surprising since he comes from a family of farmworkers.

The influx of immigrants from all over Asia including India, Vietnam and Korea, have augmented the older Chinese, Japanese and Filipino communities and have made Asian Americans a demographic too valuable to ignore.

There are still a ways to go but the new generation of politically active Filipino Americans is a harbinger of what to expect in the near future as the younger Filipinos who earned their experience in local political and issue-oriented campaigns begin to test the political waters.

Democracy is not the most efficient form of government; sometimes it's a messy business; sometimes it's loud and chaotic and sometimes it moves at glacier-like speed. In order for our democracy to work, ordinary people need to get involved at all levels, from local advisory commissions, elected school boards and city councils to state legislators on up to the federal level. 

Democracy is not a spectator sport. It demands participation. What President Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address still stands true. Our nation is based on the foundational principle of a "government by the people, of the people and for the people."

###