United Farm Workers

FAHM: Larry Itliong’s Impact on the Farm Labor Movement

Note from the Editor: Jedric Martin is one of UniPro’s interns for the fall. As part of Fil-Am History Month, interns explored California’s new law to include history on Fil-Am farm workers and their efforts in the state’s education curriculum. Read on to see Jedric's thoughts on labor leader, Larry Itliong. By Jedric Martin, guest contributor

jedric

Larry Itliong was a Fil-Am labor organizer. He is best known for leading the Delano Grape Strike, which started on September 8, 1965 and lasted for more than half a decade. Because of his efforts in this strike, he is often regarded as “one of the fathers of the West Coast labor movement.”

Itliong was born to Artemio and Francesca Itliong on October 25, 1913 in the Pangasinan Province of the Philippines. He was one of six children and only had a sixth grade education. Nonetheless, Itliong excelled as an activist, and by 1929, he had immigrated to the United States. One year later, at the age of seventeen, he was involved in his first activist movement: the lettuce strike at Monroe, Washington. Furthermore, Itliong was a very good card player and a regular cigar smoker. He was multilingual, being able to speak fluently in various Pilipino dialects, Spanish, Cantonese, and Japanese. He also taught himself about law, which aided him as both an activist and a leader.

As a farmworker, Itliong was well traveled on the West Coast, having worked in Alaska, Washington, and all around California. Additionally, he worked in Montana and South Dakota. While in Alaska, he helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union. Commonly referred to as "Seven Fingers," he received his nickname after losing three fingers in an accident while working in Alaska.

Picture of Larry Itliong

Itliong’s credentials demonstrate his value not only to the Pilipino community, but the American community as well. In the 1930s and ‘40s, Californian Pilipinos led the way in unionization efforts among farmworkers. After serving as a mess man on a U.S. Army transport ship during World War II, Itliong moved to Stockton, California where he participated in the first major agriculture strike to take place after the war. He also served as a first shop steward of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 37 in Seattle, being elected as its vice-president in 1953.

In 1965, Itliong became a leader of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a union that consisted mostly of Filipinos who immigrated to the U.S. during the 1930s. It was around this time that Itliong, along with Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines, and Pete Velasco, led a strike against growers of table grapes in California in an attempt to increase their revenue stream to minimum wage. This boycott, which would later be referred to as the Delano Grape Strike, was a very significant victory for Itliong and his fellow leaders, who eventually won higher wages. AWOC would soon merge with the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) led by Cesar Chavez, to create the United Farm Workers (UFW).

Itliong was initially skeptical about the merge, fearing that Mexicans would dominate the union. Nonetheless, Itliong did not share these thoughts, and instead, worked harder to move up in the union. He was a member of the founding board for California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), which was a plan enacted through President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty policy. This plan was initiated in 1966 as a nonprofit legal services program. The CRLA seeks to provide California residents—especially those greatly affected by poverty—with free legal assistance, as well as access to many different education and outreach programs.

Itliong served as the Assistant Director of the UFW under Chavez until 1970; at this time, he was appointed to National Boycott Coordinator. In 1971, however, Itliong resigned from the UFW due to disagreements about how the union should be run. Moreover, Itliong also believed the union did not support aging Pilipinos. Despite his resignation, Itliong still supported the UFW’s cause. He helped organize a strike against the Safeway supermarkets in 1974 and worked towards building a retirement facility for UFW workers, which would later be known as “Agbayani Village.” On February 8, 1977, Itliong died of Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 63. Los Angeles County decided in 2011 to give public recognition to Itliong, making his birthday, October 25, an official holiday.

As Fil-Ams, it is our responsibility to acknowledge Itliong’s impact on the Farm Labor movement. The contributions he made may not have affected us directly, but they surely stand as a significant example of how anyone could fight for an important cause, despite having to deal with difficult circumstances. His commitment to UFW’s mission, despite a lack of agreement between him and the governing body of the union, demonstrates not only his strong leadership qualities, but also his good will. The decision of California Governor Jerry Brown to include the contributions of Fil-Ams, such as Itliong, in the academic curriculum of the state is monumental, and it will ensure that these courageous Pilipinos are remembered for their integral role in the Farm Labor movement.

Photo Credit: Reuther Library

FAHM: Labor Movement Leader Philip Vera Cruz

Note from the Editor: Aaron Alcana is one of UniPro’s interns for the fall. As part of Fil-Am History Month, interns explored California's new law to include history on Fil-Am farm workers and their efforts in the state's education curriculum. Read on to see Aaron's thoughts on labor leader, Philip Vera Cruz. By Aaron Alcana, guest contributor

aaronalcana

In present day America, the Filipino community is finally gaining the recognition it deserves for its invaluable involvement in the American labor movement. Early in the month of October 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that requires that the California academic curriculum include the contributions of Filipino-Americans during the farm labor movement. This gigantic step for Fil-Ams was a great way to start off October, which is also Filipino American History Month. A key leader during this time period was Philip Vera Cruz, and the Californian Department of Education believes his contributions to the movement are important enough to be included in the education of young students.

Philip Vera Cruz was instrumental in the founding of the United Farm Workers Union. He was born in Ilocos Sur in the Philippines in 1904. At a young age Vera Cruz began working on the farms in his town. Vera Cruz would later described his work in Ilocos Sur to be much easier than the work he would endure in California. This statement goes to show how difficult it was for him to gain his fair share in America. In 1926 he moved to the United States and worked a variety of positions, including working in a restaurant and a box factory. He would eventually settle in California, where he began working as a farmer to support himself. In the 1950’s, Vera Cruz joined the National Farm Labor Union and with this organization he helped bring together groups of Filipino farm workers. When all these groups combined, they called themselves the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). The AWOC led the Delano Grape Strike, during which the farm workers demanded that grape growers pay their workers’ wages equal to the federal minimum wage.  The Filipinos were the majority of the AWOC. Eventually the Mexican population, led by Cesar Chavez, joined the Filipino workers on strike. When the Filipinos and Mexicans joined together, they became the United Farm Workers (UFW). The Delano Grape Strike comprised of around 10,000 workers and it lasted about 5 years. This movement was a peaceful one, as it utilized boycotts, marches, strikes, and other organized events. By 1970, the UFW were able to reach an agreement with the grape growers they worked for. The companies that sold the grapes grown in Delano felt pressured by the boycotts and strikes because now they couldn’t make money selling their products. Without the farm laborers, there was no one to grow and harvest the grapes that the companies wanted to sell.

Philip Vera Cruz

In the UFW, Philip Vera Cruz served as the Vice President and as a member of the managing board. In 1977, he resigned from the union because he had differences with Cesar Chavez. Chavez was the same person who Vera Cruz worked hand in hand with to bring rights to the farmers in California. The reason he stopped seeing eye to eye with Chavez was because Chavez traveled to the Philippines and befriended Ferdinand Marcos. Vera Cruz saw Marcos as a brutal dictator and he didn’t want to be associated with him and his regime in any way. In 1987, Vera Cruz traveled back to his home country for the first time in 50 years to accept the Ninoy Aquino Award. He was awarded with this honor because of his involvement in the advancement of the Filipino population.

Young Filipinos in today’s society should respect and appreciate Philip Vera Cruz and his work. He succeeded in his goals by using hard work and patience; Vera Cruz never used violent tactics when leading the Delano Grape Strike. He gained positive results for all the farm workers who put their belief in him. Academics, particularly in California, are finally giving Vera Cruz the recognition he deserves by adding his accomplishments to the educational curriculum. The next step should be adding his peer’s accomplishments to the education programs across the country.

In present day America, the Fil-Am youth are searching for a person that they can look up to for inspiration in American history. By adding the accomplishments of Philip Vera Cruz and his peers to the textbooks, the Fil-Am youth will realize that people like them have been contributing to the advancements of America for a long time. Hopefully, after learning about the accomplishments of previous Fil-Ams, the youth will be inspired to do something they believe in.

Photo credit: Pinoy Life