Early Life and Influences
Larry Itliong was born on November 20, 1919, in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. He grew up in a rural, agrarian community where seasonal migration for work was common. After completing primary schooling, he attended a vocational program that taught basic trade skills. In 1939, at the age of twenty, Itliong emigrated to the United States under the Philippine Commonwealth’s agricultural labor recruitment program, joining a wave of Filipino workers who were recruited to fill labor shortages on West Coast farms.
In California, Itliong worked first as a farmhand picking fruit in the Central Valley and later as a cannery laborer in the San Joaquin Valley. The harsh working conditions, low wages, and pervasive racial discrimination against Filipino and other Asian farmworkers left a lasting impression on him. He became acquainted with early labor activists in the region, including members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). These encounters introduced him to collective bargaining tactics and the concept of multiracial labor solidarity.
Entry Into Activism or Reform
Itliong’s first formal involvement in labor organization came in 1948 when he joined the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packinghouse, and Allied Workers (UCAPAWA). He quickly emerged as a trusted organizer, known for his fluency in Ilocano, Tagalog, and English, which allowed him to bridge communication gaps among farmworkers of diverse ethnic backgrounds. In 1950, he helped found the Local 266 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Stockton, California, a union that represented many Filipino agricultural laborers.
The turning point in his activist career occurred in 1955 when Itliong co‑founded the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a union affiliate of the CIO that focused specifically on organizing Filipino farmworkers in the Salinas and Santa Clara valleys. AWOC’s early campaigns targeted seasonal wage contracts, demanding overtime pay, better housing, and the removal of discriminatory hiring practices. Itliong served as the organization’s vice‑president and chief strategist, designing leaflets, organizing rallies, and negotiating directly with growers.
Major Campaigns and Public Work
1959 Stockton Cotton Strike – As AWOC’s field organizer, Itliong led a three‑day strike of nearly 2,000 cotton pickers in Stockton. The strike secured a 25‑cent hourly wage increase and set a precedent for future farm‑worker actions in California.
1965 Delano Grape Strike – In September 1965, Itliong and AWOC initiated a strike against the DiGiorgio Corporation and other grape growers in Delano, demanding better wages and union recognition. When the predominantly Mexican‐American National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) under Cesar Chavez joined the effort in November, the combined action formed the basis of the United Farm Workers (UFW) after the two groups merged later that year. Itliong’s insistence on a multiracial coalition and his experience with strike logistics were instrumental in sustaining the 5‑year boycott that eventually forced growers to sign labor contracts.
1966–1967 National Boycott and Marches – Itliong helped coordinate nationwide grape boycotts, traveling across the United States to speak at union halls, churches, and universities. He also participated in the historic “March to Sacramento” in 1966, where farmworkers presented demands to the California State Legislature. Although the march did not secure immediate legislative victories, it raised public awareness and laid groundwork for future state labor reforms.
Legal Advocacy – Throughout the 1960s, Itliong worked with labor attorneys to file lawsuits challenging contract violations and discriminatory hiring. Notably, he contributed to the 1968 case *Machinist v. United Farm Workers*, which reinforced the right of farmworkers to collective bargaining under California law.
Ideas, Methods, and Leadership Style
Itliong emphasized pragmatic, on‑the‑ground organizing over charismatic symbolism. He preferred direct dialogue with workers, using bilingual town‑hall meetings to explain contracts, strike benefits, and voting rights. His leadership style was collaborative; he encouraged the formation of local “farm‑worker committees” that could make decisions autonomously, fostering a sense of ownership among rank‑and‑file members.
Strategically, Itliong blended non‑violent protest with economic pressure. He championed consumer boycotts, urging urban allies to refuse grapes and other agricultural products. He also leveraged the media, arranging photo opportunities with sympathetic journalists and providing press releases that framed the struggle in terms of civil rights and labor justice.
Ideologically, Itliong aligned himself with broader progressive movements of the era, maintaining ties with the civil‑rights movement, anti‑war activists, and immigrant rights groups. He believed that farm‑worker emancipation required not only better wages but also immigration reform, access to education, and the dismantling of racial hierarchies embedded in agricultural labor practices.
Opposition, Criticism, and Controversies
Growers, agricultural business associations, and the California Farm Bureau consistently opposed Itliong’s organizing efforts. They argued that unionization would increase labor costs and disrupt the seasonal nature of farm work. In 1966, the DiGiorgio Corporation filed a lawsuit alleging that the strike constituted an unlawful restraint of trade; the case was eventually dismissed, but it demonstrated the legal pressure placed on labor leaders.
Within the farm‑worker movement, tensions sometimes arose between Itliong’s Filipino constituency and the predominantly Mexican‑American base of the NFWA. Some critics accused Itliong of initially pursuing Filipino‑only agendas before embracing a broader coalition, while others praised his willingness to subsume ethnic particularities for the sake of unity. These internal debates were documented in contemporary union newsletters and later scholarly analyses, reflecting the complexities of multiracial organizing.
The U.S. government’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) monitored Itliong and other labor leaders during the 1960s, maintaining a file that recorded his travel, speeches, and suspected affiliations with left‑wing groups. No formal charges were ever brought, and the surveillance record remains a point of historical controversy regarding the extent of state repression of labor activism.
Legacy and Historical Impact
Larry Itliong’s contributions have been increasingly recognized in scholarly works and public commemorations. His insistence on a multiracial labor front helped shape the United Farm Workers into a national symbol of interracial solidarity. The contracts secured after the Delano strike set precedents for wages, health care, and grievance procedures that later farm‑worker unions built upon.
Historians credit Itliong with introducing organizational structures—such as local worker councils and bilingual outreach—that remain central to contemporary farm‑labor campaigns. In 2015, the California State Senate passed a resolution honoring Itliong’s role in advancing labor rights for agricultural workers. Moreover, his life story has become a focal point for Filipino‑American heritage groups, who organize annual commemorations and educational programs highlighting the historic contributions of Filipino laborers to the U.S. civil‑rights narrative.
While Itliong died relatively young—on October 21, 1977, in Seattle, Washington—his legacy endures through archival collections, oral histories, and the continued activism of farm‑worker organizations that trace their origins to the 1960s struggle. Contemporary debates over farm‑worker immigration policy, wage equity, and union rights frequently invoke Itliong’s strategies as a template for effective, inclusive organizing.
