Larry Itliong Leads the Way for Farmworkers' Rights
CHAPTER 1 STRIKE On On September 8 1965 hundreds of Filipino American farmworkers piled into Filipino Hall in Delano California Filipino Hall was a gathering space for the farmworkers Usually they held dances and celebrations in the hall But tonight they were not there to dance or celebrate The workers had a decision to make Delano was one of California’s numerous farm towns The city had many large vineyards Farmworkers pick grapes on a 5,000-acre vineyard in Guasti California in 1923 5
Farmworkers often lived in labor camps such as this one in Sonoma California in 1937 Most of the vineyards were owned by wealthy white men These men known as growers hired farmworkers to help at harvest time Many of the farmworkers were immigrants from the Philippines and Mexico Because of Delano’s many vineyards the area had become home to a large immigrant population In Filipino Hall Larry Itliong gave a speech to his fellow farmworkers Itliong was a respected leader in the Filipino farmworker community He spoke to the workers about the discrimination 6
they experienced on the job Most vineyard owners expected the immigrant farmworkers to work long unreasonable hours And they paid the workers barely enough money to survive In his speech Itliong encouraged the workers to take a stand against Delano growers Itliong wanted the Filipino farmworkers to go on strike If the workers agreed they would stop working until the growers agreed to pay them a fair wage But going on strike was risky The growers might find other people to replace the Filipino workers If that happened the workers could lose their jobs However Itliong saw striking as their only opportunity for change For a strike to succeed the workers had to stand together Itliong called for a vote and the workers all agreed Tomorrow they would walk out of the vineyards and begin their strike 7
