California marks day honoring Filiipino American labor leader Larry Itliong

The late labor leader Larry Itliong's birthday is Oct. 25.

California is still the only state that marks the birth of Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong.

Governor Jerry Brown first signed the law creating Larry Itliong Day in 2015 and every year since, the state has officially recognized the day. Wednesday, Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis signed the proclamation since Gov. Gavin Newsom was on a trade mission in China.

The proclamation read, in part:

While working as a laborer in the fisheries and canneries of Alaska, Itliong helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union. His efforts helped secure a contract that gave workers an eight-hour workday with overtime. Following his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Itliong settled in Stockton, California.

Itliong continued his work in the labor movement, emerging as a leader in the Filipino-American community of respected elders known as Manongs. He was involved in organizing the asparagus strike of 1948 – the first major agricultural strike after World War II – and in 1956, Itliong founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton. Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and Manong leaders helped create the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.

            RELATED: Why all states should honor Larry Itliong

In the Spring of 1965, Itliong allied with grape workers in the Coachella Valley, fighting for increased pay. Following that victory, the Manongs voted in September 1965 to organize against grape growers in Delano who were exploiting workers toiling in their fields. The Manongs joined César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and the National Farmworkers Association to launch a nationwide boycott of grapes, ultimately delivering the first farmworker union contracts.

The UFW recognized the significance of Itliong and other Filipino American labor leaders in the formation of a union that joined Mexican and Filipino farmworkers.

"Both Larry Itliong and Cesar Chavez knew growers had defeated unions for 100 years by using one race to break the strikes of another. So from the outset of the walkouts, they insisted both Filipino and Latino strikers share the same picket lines and union hall, and eat in the same strike kitchen. The two unions merged in 1966, to form what today is the United Farm Workers of America. Solidarity between the races helped produce the first union contracts with table grape growers in 1970, and was a key factor in establishing the first enduring farm workers union in American history," read the UFW statement.

"Tough and courageous, Larry Itliong joined other Filipino American leaders such as Peter Velasco and Philip Vera Cruz who built the UFW alongside Cesar Chavez and his Latino colleagues such as Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla," the statement concluded.

The historic five-year long Delano Grape Strike ended successfully with farmworkers receiving fair wages, benefits and better working conditions.

In 2014,  the overpass over Route 54, also known as the Filipino American Highway, in the City of San Diego was renamed the "Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge.

In 2015 the Alvarado Middle School in Union City, California was officially renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School, after Itliong and his friend and fellow Filipino American labor leader, Philip Vera Cruz.

Itliong passed away on February 8, 1977 at the age of 63. He was survived by his wife and seven children. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

1965 Grape Strike, launched by Filipino farm workers, is part of US labor history

 

Filipino farmworkers voted to strike against the California grape growers in 1965.

On September 8, 1965, Filipino American farm workers organized as the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) voted to strike against grape growers in Delano, California, to protest years of poor pay and working conditions.

The Delano Grape Strike grew from a long history of labor organizing and protest by Filipino workers in agriculture and canning on the West Coast. Led by Larry Itliong, AWOC asked the more cautious National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), a mostly Latino farm workers union led by Cesar Chavez, to join their strike.

To Delano resident Roger Gadiano, the nondescript Filipino Hall in town is a shrine. “This is our Mecca,” he says. “I guess it’s our Selma," referring to Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when some 600 civil rights marchers headed attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge where state and local lawmen attacked them with billy clubs and tear gas and drove them back into Selma.

This decision by the Filipinos was a big risk for Delano’s grape workers. Many lived in company housing and could be evicted with little or no notice, and, indeed, many eventually were forced to leave their homes as a consequence of striking. There was also a risk that the growers might draw from the large population of Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers to replace the striking Filipino crews. Such tactics had long been an effective check on union power.

In August 1966, the two organizations merged to form the United Farm Workers (UFW), a union committed to nonviolent protest that sought to organize migrant farm laborers to improve their wages, education, housing, and legal protections.

The protest that began in the fields in Delano grew into a broader boycott that asked for help from consumers in urban areas. Filipino Americans living in the cities and suburbs supported the farm workers by bringing them groceries by the carload, lobbied their lawmakers and boycotted table grapes and wine.

By 1970, the UFW grape boycott was a success. Table grape growers signed their first union contracts, granting workers better pay, benefits, and protections.

In the decades that followed, the UFW continued to use nonviolent strikes, boycotts, marches, and fasts to help farm workers stand up for their rights and gather support from ordinary Americans to aid them in their efforts.

What began as a labor dispute in the fields of Delano blossomed into a civil rights struggle, a movement for achieving justice for farmworkers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.

New national park proposed to honor Cesar Chavez, Filipino labor leaders and the UFW

The Cesar Chavez National Monument in La Paz, CA would become part of the proposed
national park honoring the agricultural workers movement.

A bill was introduced to Congress to create a new national historical park to mark the life of Cesar E. Chavez and the wider farmworker movement including the pivotal role of Filipino labor leaders on Thursday, June 9.

The bill submitted by California's Rep Raul Ruiz and Senator Alex Padilla would designate a Cesar Chavez and Farmworker Movement National Historical Park, is the result of more than a decade of work by community advocates, members of Congress, and a wide range of organizations, including the National Parks Conservation Association.

If passed, the bill would expand the existing Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in La Paz, CA. and create a new park with multiple sites in California and Arizona. 

In addition to exploring Cesar Chavez’s life and work, the park will celebrate and share other leaders and aspects of the farmworker movement including Larry Itliong and the Filipino farmworkers who were instrumental to the creation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. Without Itliong and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee that he represented and made up mostly of Filipinos, there would be no UFW.

(EDITOR'S OPINION INSERTED HERE: Perhaps a more appropriate name for the proposed park would be the "Chavez-Itliong and Farmworker Movement National Historical Park.")

The park would also include “The 40 Acres” in Delano, California, which served as the first headquarters for the UFW and the site of Agbayani Village, a retirement home for farmworkers. It would also include the route of the 300-mile farmworker march to Sacramento in 1966, which generated national attention to their struggle for dignity, better working conditions, and fair wages.

The legislation follows recommendations finalized by the National Park Service in 2012 from its multi-year study of the life of Cesar Chavez and the history of the farmworker movement in California and the West.

“It is crucial that our national parks represent the diversity of America and respect the rich heritage of its people. Establishing this National Park would help fulfill this vision,” said Dr. Michelle Magalong, President of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation. 

“Establishing such a park is an opportunity to spread the legacy and vision of Chavez and other leaders in the farm labor movement to audiences around the country. We support honoring the legacy of many leaders of the farm labor movement and support legislation by Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz to establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park,” said Magalong.

Larry Itliong, right, and Cesar Chavez, left, were co-leaders of the UFW.

NPCA has been involved in multiple aspects of the effort for more than a decade, including calling for and celebrating the establishment of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, supporting the Park Service in its multi-year study, facilitating conversations with key stakeholders and partners, and assisting the legislative offices now championing this effort in Congress.

“Only 8% of historic, cultural, and public land designations are based on Latino, Black, Indigenous and other communities of color histories and this offers an opportunity to expand our nation’s narrative to be inclusive of the histories and contributions of Latino communities in the United States.” said Shanna Edberg, Director of Conservation Programs for Hispanic Access Foundation. 

“Ten years after President Obama established the César E. Chávez National Monument, we call on Congress to build upon that foundation through a National Historical Park that will preserve the broader history of the Farmworker Movement – a movement that united heroic women and men who were seeking fairness and equality,” said Sehila Mota Casper, Executive Director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation. 

“We also recognize that the National Park Service must continue to improve upon its efforts to be America’s storyteller and thereby attract, educate, and serve America’s increasingly diverse population," Mota continued. "The César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park would interpret an important chapter in our nation’s history, celebrate our nation’s growing diversity, and strengthen the unity we must share today if we are to overcome the challenges of tomorrow.”

The NPCA played a similar role in the establishing the newest national park, the Amache National Historic Site in Colorado where thousands of Japanese Americans were unconstitutionally incarcerated during WWII. It gained national park status in March of this year.

“The new park will highlight Cesar Chavez’s life and work, as well as celebrate and share other leaders and aspects of the farmworker movement including Larry Itliong and the Filipino farmworkers, who were instrumental to the creation of the United Farm Workers," said Sally Garcia, Los Angeles Outreach Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).  

"It will play an important role in our political and social discourse in immigration, civil and labor rights, and issues relevant to the Latinx community,” 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Campaign launched for a US postal stamp honoring Larry Itliong

What a Larry Itliong stamp might look like.

A former postal worker is spearheading an effort to have labor leader Larry Itliong on a U.S. postal stamp. 

Alfonso Salazar, a retired postal service employee, created an online form for people to indicate their support.

Ssalazar was inspired to launch his campaign last October when Itliong was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Oct. 25, Itliong's birthday, be observed as Larry Itliong Day in the state.

He first learned about Itliong in 2014 when the motion picture Cesar Chavez hit the theaters. The movie created a controversy because in the final cut, the role of Itliong and Filipinos were relegated to the background.

Even though he is a Mexican American, he believes Itliong deserves to be on par with Cesar Chavez. The two men were instrumental in the 1965 Grape Strike that led to formation of the United Farm Workers by joining the Filipino farm workers with the Mexican workers. Chavez was granted a stamp in 2003. 

It was Itliong who convinced Chavez to join the grape strike started by the Filipino farm workers.

“I know (about Itliong), but I don’t know if the nation knows about him,” he said. “This is a good way for people to learn about him.”

“His actions and beliefs taught me to stand up for what I believe in even when it seems impossible or too difficult. It should never be about me. It should always be about 'We,'” said Itliong's daughter Patty Itliong Serda from an interview introducing the book about her father, “The Journey for Justice.”

In his 34 years working for USPS as a graphic artist, Salazar said he never saw a stamp honoring a Filipino.

The online petition as well as a letter proposing the Itliong stamp will be sent to Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations for new stamps. The approval process may take years.

Cesar Chavez, left, and Larry Itliong, right, founded the United Farm Workers.

Salazar hopes the online petition will generate community support, which the committee takes into consideration in evaluating a new stamp. It helps to have wide support not only from Filipino community leaders but from activists in the labor movement, allies from all races and politicians. When Chavez's stamp was approved, it had the support of then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the U.S. and State Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, and the Hispanic Caucus. 

“You learn the history for each stamp that comes out, and during the 34 years I’ve been [at USPS], I’ve gotten to learn a lot about our history here,” Salazar told the Inquirer. “It’s almost like, if stamps were like a quilt that represented the United States, then you have to include Filipino Americans as part of that quilt. Otherwise, there’s a piece missing.”

To learn more and to add your name to keep up to date on this USPS commemorative stamp effort for Larry Itliong, visit: www.realitymaniacs.com/larry-itliong

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

FilAm History Month: New Itliong mural unveiled in Delano

 

Besides honoring Larry Itliong, the mural emphasizes the labor leader's love of reading.

A new mural honoring the life of Filipino American labor activist Larry Itliong was unveiled in Delano, Calif. on his birthday, Oct. 25, which the State of California has declared as Larry Itliong Day.

In attendance were a host of local dignitaries, school officials and Rob Bonta, California's first Filipino American attorney general, whose parents were labor organizers for the United Farm Workers, cofounded by Itliong and Cesar Chavez. When he was a member of the California Assembly, Bonta authored and passed the bill making Oct. 25 Larry Itliong Day.

The mural, designed by artist Eliseo Art Silva with the help of the students of Morningside Elementary School in Delano, featured a speech by Patty Serda, who has been the school librarian for 21 years.

Silva said the children helped him narrow down the narrative and eventually assisted him with painting the wall.

“They see it differently without bias, without what do you call it -- an agenda. Their only agenda is to tell a story,” said Silva.

Following is her Serda's speech.

By Patty Itliong Serda 

Morningside School Librarian

I am the youngest daughter of Larry Dulay Itliong. Today is an emotional day for me seeing the first Larry Itliong mural in Delano at my school, Morningside.

And realizing this is a symbol of my dad’s life’s work. I wanted to first thank Blue Shield of California, Rick Bond and Debbie Chang for being an instrumental part in this mural without them sponsoring this mural this would still be a distant dream of mine. So thank you to Blue Shield and everyone involved in bringing light unto this project/dream of mine.

Secondly, I would like to acknowledge and thank the students and staff at my school, Mr. Chavez, principal, Mrs. Gibbs, vice-principal, the board of trustees, and superintendent’s cabinet and our Superintendent Rosalina Rivera for want to help bring awareness to my dad’s fight for justice and equality, and to the willingness to each our younger generation about Filipino American history because after all it is American history.

I am so honored that we can share this moment with state Attorney General Rob Bonta and his family. For he is key in passing the bill AB7 that proclaims Oct. 25 as Larry Itliong Day and designate that public schools and educational institutions observe that date by conducting exercises remembering the life of Larry Itliong and the contributions he made to our sate.

With that being said, today is the perfect day to unveil this amazing mural created and painted by Eliseo Art Silva, a world renowned artist. As I look through each state of the mural I can’t help but imagine my dad’s journey and legacy. For having such amazing dreams and passion at such a young age. It reminds me so much of the dreams and passions of my own children as well as students here at Morningside.

My dad’s story has taught so many people that dreams and passions are not easy but always possible. This is true when in comes to the story about my dad. When he got to America he realized that his dream would be a long journey ahead. He decided he needed to work in the fields to make a living and that is when he realized that people of color were treated unfairly, so he decided to become a Farm Labor Activist.

I call him a HERO.

SCREEN CAPTURE

Larry Itliong's daughter Patty Serda in front of the mural honoring her father.

He knew he had to do something to help the people. So he became the voice of the people. In the field, there were no restrooms, no clean drinking water, no shade from the hot sun and no breaks.

I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for them. And on top of all that, they would receive very little pay for such long hard work!

My dad knew something had to be done. So he took a bold step and decided to stand up for the rights of the people. My dad was passionate about organizing groups of people to stand up for their rights. He was a great organizer.

He soon partnered with Cesar Chavez and together they formed a union. On Sept. 7, 1965, they decided together that Mexicans and Filipinos would go on strike. The Delano Grape Strike is a very historic event that happened in this small town of Delano. The strike was successful because it caused change for the better. All these historic events are depicted on this beautiful meaningful mural.

The last panel on this mural is significant to me because it is a picture of my dad and I together with him reading to me and other children. This is such and important part of the mural to me since my dad learned so much by reading himself. I fell that is whey I’m passionate about educating our children about reading. I guess being a librarian is a perfect job for me. It reminds me of my dad every time I see children interested in books.

I was so close to my father even though, when he passed, I was only 7. He used to take me to work with him in his office in Chinatown. There are so many amazing memories about my dad like when I used to climb on his bed every night before bed and he would brush my hair. This great memory is also in the mural, with a hidden hair brush as a symbol of our father/daughter relationship. We shared so many great memories, but the most important thing my dad taught me was to believe in my dreams, fight for what is right and never give up!

The mural is entitled: The Larry Itliong Story: The Road to Equality and Justice. We picked this name because each one us has a story to tell and I want everyone to know the story about my dad. They say a legacy is an individual that makes a mark on the world and represents an impact they have made on people or places. My dad’s legacy will live on forever and will continue to do so if we take that same passion and drive that my dad had and also pursue our dreams and goals and when things seem tough or impossible you NEVER GIVE UP!

Thank you for letting me share with you today about this amazing man, I call my dad. On this date, Oct. 25, as we celebrate Larry Itliong Day, it is my hope that you will feel inspired to stand up for justice and equality just like my dad did. Thank you!

Mural honoring Larry Itliong to be unveiled Oct. 25

 

Volunteers are seen working on a portion of a mural honoring labor leader Larry Itlion.

The finishing touches on a mural remembering Larry Itliong, the Filipino American labor leader, is being done at Morningside Elementary School in Delano.

"Larry Itliong: Road to Equality and Justice," the new mural wrapping around the exterior of the school library will depict scenes from Larry Itliong’s lifetime.

“That picture is significant, because it reminds me of my childhood, and what my dad taught me, to never give up,” said Patty Serda, Larry Itliong’s daughter, who has been the school's librarian for 21 years. 

RELATED: Why all Americans should know about Larry Itliong

“He came to America and found out people were not being treated fairly in the fields. He was the type of person who wanted to fight for the rights of humans,” she told KERO-TV, an ABC affiliate.

The artist behind the mural is Eliseo Art Silva, best known for the giant mural in Los Angeles Historic Filipinotown depicting Filipino American history.

The formal unveiling of the mural will occur on Oct. 25, Larry Itliong Day in California.

Larry Itliong, Ruth Asawa inducted into California Hall of Fame

Artist Ruth Asawa and labor activist Larry Itliong were among those included in the 14th class of the California Hall of Fame.

The two Asian American legends join the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, singer Richie Valens and LGBTQ activists Phyllis Lyon and Dorothy “Del” Martin, announced Gov Gavin Newsom Tuesday.

The California Hall of Fame was established in 2006 at the California Museum by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver to honor legendary people who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history. 

Inductees come from all walks of life and have made distinguished achievements across a variety fields, including the arts, education, business and labor, science, sports, philanthropy and public service.

Ruth Asawa working on one of her artworks.

Ruth Asawa

Internationally recognized for her distinctive wire sculptures, pioneering artist Ruth Asawa left her mark on the landscape of the San Francisco Bay Area through her public commissions and on countless students through her activism on behalf of arts education.

Asawa’s artistic talent was evident from an early age, but she had little spare time for the art-making she enjoyed while working on her family’s farm and attending school. In 1942, her family was forced into detention, along with all other Japanese Americans on the West Coast. 

She got her first chance to study with professional artists while imprisoned at Santa Anita Racetrack and graduated from high school in an incarceration camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. Released to attend teacher’s college in 1943, she learned after three years that she would be denied a credential because of her Japanese ancestry. 

At the urging of close friends, she continued her education at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There, her creativity blossomed as she studied under many of the leading lights of Modernism, including Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller and Merce Cunningham. She also met architectural student Albert Lanier, whom she married in 1949.

In San Francisco, the couple raised six children and built their careers. Over the next half-century, Asawa produced sculptures and works on paper. Her innovative use of material and original form brought her growing acclaim. Her work has been exhibited widely since the early 1950s and is in the permanent collections of museums nationwide. She also is known for her public commissions throughout the Bay Area, including fountains in Ghirardelli Square and outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, and the Japanese American Internment Memorial in San Jose.

Asawa was devoted to expanding access to arts education, believing that when children make art, they make “history for themselves.” She co-founded the Alvarado Arts Workshop in 1968 and was instrumental in creating the first public arts high school in San Francisco in 1982, which was renamed in her honor in 2010.

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Labor leader Larry Itliong

Larry Itliong

Itliong was one of the most important civil rights leaders of the 20th century and a father of the West Coast labor movement.

Born in the Philippines, Itliong immigrated to the U.S in 1929, hoping to become a lawyer. Instead, he ended up working in the Alaskan fish canneries and along the West Coast as a farm laborer. During that time, he experienced how badly laborers were treated and saw the power they could gain by working together. He became an activist and organizer.

Following his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Itliong became a U.S citizen and in 1954 moved to Stockton’s Little Manila, where he organized for the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). He was so good at recruiting new members that union leaders asked him to move to Delano to organize Filipino grape workers. It was there that he helped change the history of farm labor.

On Sept. 8, 1965, he led AWOC members in walking off the grape vineyards to demand wages equal to federal minimum wage and better working conditions. But Itliong knew that for the strike to succeed, they needed members of the National Farm Workers Association to join. He approached NFWA’s leader, César Chávez, with the proposal. 

On Sept. 16, the AWOC and NFWA joined forces beginning the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott. It lasted five years and was one of the most important social justice and labor movements in American history, ending with victory for the farmworkers. In the meantime, the AWOC and NFWA merged in 1966 to become the United Farm Workers (UFW), with Chávez as director and Itliong as assistant director.

In 1971, Itliong left the UFW but continued to work for Filipino Americans until his death in 1977 at age 63. One of his major successes was securing funding for the construction of the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village in Delano, which has provided housing and support for retired Filipino farmworkers since 1974.

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Hispanic Heritage Month: When Filipinos and Mexicans refused to be pitted against each other

1965 UFW photo

Andy Imutan (left, front) with Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong and Bobby Kennedy.

Larry Itliong is slowly getting his well-deserved attention for his work as a Filipino American labor organizer. He was not alone. There was a whole cadre of leaders that led to Mexican and Filipino American farm workers to join together to give birth to  the United Farmworkers union.

It is fitting that Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, overlaps Filipino American History Month (October.) Filipinos and Mexicans have a centuries-old history of working together, trading and sharing food, customs and language while Mexico and the Philippines were colonies of Spain. That relationship perhaps explains why they were able to resist the growers' attempts to pit them against each other in the farm fields of the West Coast.

However, there were many Filipino American leaders that led to the creation of the groundbreaking decision to overcome the growers' strategy pitting Mexican and Filipino farm workers against each other. Among them were Pete Velasco, Chris Mensalves and Andy Imutan.

Imutan was one of the original strikers from the 1965 walkouts who started it all. He was a leader of AWOC and later a vice president of the United Farm Workers, formed by the merger of the largely Filipino AWOC and the mostly Latino NFWA. Imutan was also in charge of the Baltimore and New York boycotts, and was UFW director in Stockton and Delano.

Below is a speech by Imutan during the 40th anniversary of Delano Grape Strike in Delano, September 2005.

By Andy Imutan

My name is Andy Imutan and I am one of the original Filipino workers who went on strike in 1965. I am now only one of two living Filipino workers from that era as most of my brothers have passed away. The one thing that does remain is their legacy and their fight for a just cause.

The whole movement began in Coachella that same summer [of 1965]. That’s when a group of Filipino workers went on strike demanding that their wages be increased from $1.10 an hour as well as better living conditions. Finally, after 10 days of picketing we finally accomplished what we had set out to do-we increased our wages by 30¡Ë an hour. The victory was more grandiose, not so much for the wage increase but for its significance at defeating the growers. We knew then that we could accomplish a lot more.

As I look back, I don’t think we could have accomplished such victory in Coachella had it not been for the leadership of our brothers Ben Gines, Pete Manuel and Larry Itliong, who were all instrumental in that victory.

After a successful first strike we did it again, this time in Delano where wages were also starting out at $1.10 an hour. However, the struggle became a lot harder when Mexican workers started crossing our picketlines. There was no unity between the Mexicans and the Filipinos. The growers were very successful in dividing us and creating conflict between the two races. Although we tried to discourage and reason with the Mexicans that this was just hurting everyone, we weren’t able to convince them.

So Larry Itliong and I decided to take action by seeing Cesar Chavez, the leader of the National Farm Workers Association. We met to come up with a plan that would be beneficial for everyone, including the Mexican workers. However, Chavez said his organization wasn’t ready to go on a strike. It took several discussions and a lot of faith, but finally the Filipinos and Mexicans joined as one on September 16, to picket the Delano growers. On March 17, 1966 we set out on a march from Delano to Sacramento that initially only had 70 farm workers and volunteers. But by April 11, as we climbed the steps of the state Capitol, there were 10,000 supporters who had joined us in the cause.

A few months later our union, AWOC, and the NFWA joined as a single union. Out of this union the United Farm Workers was born. It was a very exciting time as we knew the potential when we joined together not as competitors but as true brothers joined in a very legitimate cause.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Filipino American History Month: Celebrating Larry Itliong Day!

Maybe the reason Larry Itliong didn't get the glowing media attention as Cesar Chavez is because he was a bit blunter with his words. He didn't fit the stereotype of the quiet, unassertive Asian.

Where Chavez was media smart, Itliong was street smart. The labor leader was -- say we say, a little rough around the edges. His manner made White reporters a little uncomfortable.

RELATED: Why all Americans should know about Larry Itliong

California's Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed today (Oct. 25) Larry Itliong Day. The governor's  official Proclamation reads:

On this day in 1913, Larry Itliong was born in San Nicolas, Pangasinan – a province of the Philippines. At the age of 15, he left his homeland and arrived in the United States in 1929. While working as a migrant laborer in the fisheries and canneries of Alaska, Itliong helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union. Within a year of founding the union, Itliong fought for a contract that gave workers an eight-hour workday with overtime. 

Through this work, Itliong emerged as a leader in the Filipino-American community of “Manongs” – respected elder workers who were instrumental in shaping the farm labor movement. 

After serving his country in World War II, Itliong settled in Stockton, California and continued his work in the labor movement. He was involved in organizing the asparagus strike of 1948 – the first major agricultural strike after World War II and in 1956, Itliong founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton. Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and the Manong leaders helped create the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). 

In Spring, 1965, Itliong fought alongside grape workers in the Coachella Valley for increased pay. After that victory, the Manongs voted in September 1965 to organize against grape growers in Delano who were exploiting workers toiling in their fields. A few days later, the Manongs joined forces with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the National Farmworkers Association, beginning a nationwide boycott of grapes that lasted five years and led to the first farmworker union contracts. 

Itliong and the Manongs continued to serve the Filipino-American community in the Central Valley by creating plans for the Paolo Agbayani Village, where retired Manongs could live out their lives in comfort and dignity. 

During the grape strike, Itliong negotiated with growers that a percentage of each grape box picked would support the retirement village. 

During Filipino American History month, we remember the Manongs’ message of “Isang Bagsak!” – That we are connected together in our fight for justice, we rise and fall together. We recognize the power of working across language and cultural barriers to fight for better working conditions for all. 

Today, on this 107th anniversary of his birth, we recognize the great contributions of Larry Itliong and the Manongs whose hard-fought battles helped advance farmworkers’ rights and social justice. The lasting relevance of their cause is underscored by the outsized burden borne by our farmworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic, whose essential role in securing our food supply puts them at greater risk. In redoubling our efforts to protect these workers, we honor an indelible legacy which continues to inspire the next generation of leaders across our state and nation. 

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim October 25, 2020, as “Larry Itliong Day.”

(Signed) Gavin Newsom

Governor of California

Larry Itliong, front left, and Cesar Chavez, front right, formed the United Farmworkers Union,
the first time Filipinos and Mexicans joined to fight for better working conditions.

The 1965 Grape Strike was overshadowed by Martin Luther King's crusade for Civil Rights happening in the South at the same time, but they were both part of the same movement fighting for equal rights, equal opportunities and recognition that these black and brown men and women were human beings and deserved to treated as human beings.

This legacy of fighting for human rights, for civil rights, for the downtrodden, the forgotten, the overlooked, the voiceless, is another reason why October is recognized as Filipino American History Month.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions.

 

Why all Americans should know about Larry Itliong

The late labor leader Larry Itliong's birthday is Oct. 25.

UPDATED Oct. 19, 2021

I was greatly disappointed that in the movie Cesar Chavez, that Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong was given the role of a spear carrier. 

I'm not sure his name was mentioned at all during the biopic of Chavez He just hung out in the background while the camera focused on the great union leader..

("Spear carrier" is the older version of what we now call "red shirts." In Hollywood's old bliblical epics spear carriers were used as background, like a piece of furniture or painting on the wall. Their moder equivalent are the red shirts, derived from the Star Trek television series. Those crewmen who wore red shirts had no name and if shooting was to ensue, they would be the first to be hit.)

Larry Itliong's name and deeds should be just as celebrated and held in reverence -- though the rough-around-the-edges Itliong would the first to blanch at that -- as we hold Chavez' name in esteem.

In California, legislation in 2015 by then-Assemblymember Rob Bonta, the only Filipino American in the state's legislature, made Itliong's birthday, Oct. 25,  a day to recognize the historic figure and his role in shaping California and the Filipino American community of today.

Larry Itliong Day is taking a while to get recognized. Celebrations throughout the state have been few but each year, more cities, communities and schools are learning to celebrate the American icon. 

A park in Delano has been named after Itliong and a school in the Bay Area bares his name along with fellow labor leader Philip Vera Cruz.

Itliong, also known as “Seven Fingers,” was a Filipino American labor organizer whose story is not as well known as others but is just as important to our history. 

It’s been said that Cesar Chavez inspired the world but that Larry Itliong inspired Cesar Chavez. In an era known for civil rights movements, Itliong fought for better working conditions for farm workers.

He came to the U.S. in 1929 when he was 15, never having slept in a bed or lived in a home with electricity. He was a natural activist and worked as a laborer and a farmhand in several states. 

Itliong first joined striking lettuce workers in Washington State. Later, he fished in Alaska and organized the cannery workers there. It was also in Alaska that he lost three fingers in an accident in a cannery, earning him the nickname “Seven Fingers.” 

Itliong went on to organize Filipino farm workers as they followed the seasonal harvests of grapes, raisins, brussel sprouts and other crops across Central California. 

The historic strike vote led by Itliong and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee took place on Sept. 8 1965 and was soon joined by the Chavez-led National Farm Workers Association. Five years later, they formed the powerful United Farm Workers and forever changed the face of agricultural labor in California. 

Itliong spent his life standing up for his belief that “everyone has equal rights and justice, but you have to make that come about.” He died on Feb. 8, 1977, leaving a legacy of activism for later generations of Filipino students, housing advocates, doctors, CPAs, nurses, tech workers, home care and domestic workers.

Itliong moved on to become the President of the Filipino American Political Association, the first national political Filipino American organization and a crucial alliance between Filipino professionals and laborers that grew out of the Delano Grape Strike.

He was also instrumental in the founding of the Pablo Agbayani Village, a retirement home built by volunteers for retired Filipino Manongs who no longer had families and needed a place to call home.

Larry Itliong passed away in 1977 at the age of 63 leaving behind his wife and seven children and the everlasting legacy of Filipino American activism.