SCR 190

Introduced by Senator Cabaldon
(Coauthors: Senators Arreguín, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, and Hurtado)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Caloza)
 Relative to Larry Itliong Day.
Larry Itliong Day
Larry Itliong Day.
This measure would proclaim October 25, 2026, as Larry Itliong Day in California and encourage all public schools and educational institutions to conduct exercises remembering his life, recognizing his accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to California.
WHEREAS, Activist and union organizer Modesto “Larry” Dulay Itliong was a prominent figure in the farmworkers movement, described as “one of the fathers of the West Coast labor movement”; and
WHEREAS, After immigrating to the United States in 1929, when he was 15 years old, Itliong began his work as a labor organizer in the State of Alaska, where he organized cannery and agricultural unions, and would later organize workers in the State of Washington, California, Montana, and South Dakota. His fluency in Ilocano, Pangasinense, Tagalog, English, Japanese, Cantonese, and Spanish complemented his oratory skills to galvanize workers, emboldening them with words of great encouragement, saying, “Let’s go, don’t be scared! I’ll be in the front, just follow me.”; and
WHEREAS, Itliong took part in his first strike in 1930 and, that same year, cofounded the Alaska Canneries Workers Union, which later became Local 7 of the United Cannery, Agricultural, and Packinghouse Workers of America. His efforts with the union fought for a contract that offered workers an eight-hour workday with overtime. He also took part with 1,500 farmworkers in a walkout of the lettuce fields near Monroe, Washington. By 1933, he organized farmworkers in the Salinas Valley; and
WHEREAS, These were among many strikes that were part of a growing movement in Filipino farmworker organizing during the 1930s, and Itliong emerged as a leader in the Filipino American community of “Manongs,” respected elder workers who were crucial in shaping the labor movement; and
WHEREAS, In 1948, Itliong, along with Philip Vera Cruz and other labor leaders, participated in the 1948 asparagus strike in the City of Stockton. The asparagus strike was the first major United States. agricultural strike after World War II. In 1956, Itliong continued his organizing work with the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton. Itliong was asked to organize for the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a newly chartered union in the AFL-CIO in 1959. Though the union was largely Filipino, it included Mexican, Arab, Black, and White workers within its ranks; and
WHEREAS, AWOC was an integral part of the farmworkers’ original organizing and was formed by Filipino workers. AWOC was led by Itliong, Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco, and Andy Imutan, all of whom were instrumental to the farm labor movement; and
WHEREAS, On September 8, 1965, Filipino American agricultural labor leaders, including Itliong and Vera Cruz, organized more than 1,500 farmworkers from AWOC in the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, in partnership with Mexican American labor leaders of the National Farm Workers Association, sparking one of the greatest social, economic, and racial justice movements in the history of California and the United States and leading to the establishment of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW); and
WHEREAS, The first union contracts were signed on July 29, 1970, in a great victory for the farmworkers. It took five years of striking, plus an international boycott of table grapes, before growers signed contracts with UFW. Ninety-five percent of the strikers had lost their homes, cars, and most of their possessions. But in losing those things, they also had found themselves. Despite all the disagreements, a powerful bond existed across ethnic lines; and
WHEREAS, The Delano boycott was incredibly successful, gained attention for some of the nation’s most forgotten laborers, and won real gains for the workers around wages and working conditions; and
WHEREAS, In 1974, these agricultural workers, along with other volunteers, also built Agbayani Village, a retirement facility for “Manongs,” located at Forty Acres in the City of Delano in the County of Kern; and
WHEREAS, After Larry Itliong resigned from UFW due to leadership style and viewpoint conflicts, he continued to be a labor organizer abroad in solidarity with labor movements across the world, defending farmworkers in Brazil and Chile, and remained politically active as a member of the Filipino American Political Association, until his passing in 1977 at the age of 63 due to health complications; and
WHEREAS, The contributions of Larry Itliong and the farmworkers, who were vital in pushing for farmworkers’ rights in California, deserve proper recognition for their accomplishments and for paving the path for the betterment of the millions of workers; now, therefore, be it
 Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring,  That the Legislature hereby proclaims October 25, 2026, as Larry Itliong Day in California and encourages all public schools and educational institutions to conduct exercises remembering his life, recognizing his accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to California; and be it further
 Resolved,  That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.