California observed Larry Itliong Day on October 25, 2026, with a proclamation honoring the Filipino American labor organizer. Itliong’s union of Filipino farmworkers began the 1965 Delano grape strike. October 25 marks the 113th anniversary of his birth, and a 2015 state law requires the governor to proclaim the day every year.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Itliong was born October 25, 1913, in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, in the Philippines, and came to the United States in 1929.
- On September 8, 1965, about 1,500 Filipino farmworkers led by Itliong struck grape growers around Delano.
- The National Farm Workers Association joined the strike eight days later, on September 16, 1965.
- The five-year strike produced the first union contracts with table grape growers in 1970.
- California’s AB 7, signed in 2015, designates October 25 as Larry Itliong Day and encourages schools to teach his contributions.
Larry Itliong Day Marks His Birthday Under a 2015 State Law
Larry Itliong Day exists because of Assembly Bill 7, which was signed into law on June 30, 2015. The law sets aside October 25 of each year as a day of special significance and requires the governor to proclaim it annually. It also encourages public schools and educational institutions to hold exercises remembering Itliong’s life, recognizing his accomplishments and teaching students about his contributions to the state.
The law reflects a broader effort to fill a gap in how California tells its own history. For decades, popular accounts of the farmworker movement left out the Filipino workers who started the Delano strike. A separate state law also requires the teaching of Filipino Americans’ contributions to the California farm labor movement.
Larry Itliong Organized Farmworkers From Stockton to Coachella
Larry Itliong arrived in the United States in 1929 as a teenager and began working as a farm laborer on the West Coast. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he settled in Stockton and continued organizing. He founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in 1956 and later became a leader of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a farmworker union.
By the mid-1960s, Itliong had built a reputation as an effective organizer. In May 1965, he led Filipino grape workers in the Coachella Valley in a successful strike for better wages. That experience set the stage for what happened that September in Delano, in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
The 1965 Delano Grape Strike Began With Filipino Workers
On September 8, 1965, the largely Filipino AWOC walked out against table and wine grape growers in the Delano area. California’s AB 7 describes about 1,500 Filipino workers holding the line for eight days despite violence and being thrown out of the labor camps where they lived.
Itliong then asked César Chávez’s mostly Latino National Farm Workers Association to join. Its members voted to strike and walked out on September 16, 1965. From the start, according to the United Farm Workers, Filipino and Latino strikers shared the same picket lines, the same union hall and the same strike kitchen. That decision mattered, because growers had long used one group of workers to replace another during strikes.
The 1965 Delano grape strike lasted five years and grew into an international boycott of California table grapes. In 1970, it produced the first union contracts with table grape growers. The unity between Filipino and Latino workers was central to that outcome.
Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz Led the Manongs
Itliong did not act alone. He worked alongside other Filipino American leaders, including Philip Vera Cruz and Peter Velasco. Together they represented the Manongs, a Tagalog term of respect for elder brothers that became the name for the generation of Filipino men who worked California’s fields for decades.
Many of the Manongs had spent their working lives in agriculture with little security for old age. Itliong pushed for Agbayani Village in Delano, a housing community for retired Filipino farmworkers, and oversaw its completion. He later served as president of the Filipino American Political Association, which grew out of the Delano strike and connected Filipino professionals with laborers.
Larry Itliong died on February 8, 1977, in Delano, at age 63. He is buried at North Kern Cemetery in Delano.
Larry Itliong Day Falls During Filipino American History Month
The timing places Larry Itliong Day inside Filipino American History Month, observed every October. The month marks the first recorded Filipino presence in the continental United States, on October 18, 1587. On that date, Filipino sailors described as “Luzones Indios” came ashore at what is now Morro Bay, California, from the Manila-built galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza.
The Filipino American National Historical Society began observing the month in the early 1990s, and Congress formally recognized it in 2009. Filipino American History Month 2026 events across California often feature Itliong’s story, making October 25 a natural focus for schools and community groups. California has used its calendar in other ways to recognize communities whose histories were long overlooked, including California Native American Day becoming a paid state holiday.
Where Larry Itliong’s Legacy Lives in California Today
Itliong’s name now appears in places that did not mark his work for decades after his death. In 2015, Alvarado Middle School in Union City was renamed Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School, honoring both Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz. In 2021, Itliong was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
For Filipino American families in Stockton, Delano, the Central Valley and the Bay Area, those recognitions carry weight. They place the Manongs inside California’s history rather than at its edges, and they give students a figure whose story connects immigration, labor and civil rights in a single life.
FAQs
Who Was Larry Itliong?
Larry Itliong was a Filipino American farm labor organizer, born October 25, 1913, in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, in the Philippines. He led the Filipino farmworkers who began the 1965 Delano grape strike and became a central figure in California’s farmworker movement.
What Did Larry Itliong Do?
Larry Itliong organized farmworkers for decades, founding the Filipino Farm Labor Union and leading the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. He led the Coachella and Delano grape strikes of 1965, brought Filipino and Latino workers together on shared picket lines and oversaw the completion of Agbayani Village for retired Filipino farmworkers.
When Is Filipino American History Month?
Filipino American History Month is observed every October. The Filipino American National Historical Society began the observance in the early 1990s, and Congress formally recognized it in 2009.
Why Is October Filipino American History Month?
October marks the first recorded Filipino presence in the continental United States, on October 18, 1587. On that date, Filipino sailors came ashore at what is now Morro Bay, California, from a Spanish galleon.
