Filipino-American labor leader and civil rights champion.
Born in 1913 in the Philippines, Larry Itliong immigrated to the United States as a youth in 1929, where he would go on to shape the farm labor movement.
While working in the fisheries and canneries of Alaska, Itliong helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union, fighting for better working conditions. After serving in World War II, Itliong settled in Stockton, California, where he continued his organizing efforts. He helped launch 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 other leaders also helped create the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.
In 1965, Itliong fought alongside grape workers in the Coachella Valley for increased pay. After that victory, the Manongs – respected elder workers in the Filipino-American community – voted in 1965 to organize against exploitative grape growers in Delano. Shortly after, the Manongs joined forces with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the National Farmworkers Association, beginning a nationwide boycott of grapes that led to the first farmworker union contracts.
The State of California has proclaimed October 25, 2022, as “Larry Itliong Day.”
