Larry Itliong

Larry ItliongGeorge Balls/Take Stock/The Image Works
Julio Hernandez, Larry Itliong, and Cesar Chavez during a march in 1966Gerald L French/Corbis/Getty Images 

Larry Itliong was a Filipino-American labor organizer and civil rights activist who played a key role in the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, which paved the way for the establishment of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. Born in the Philippines in 1913, Itliong immigrated to the United States in 1929 and became a farmworker in California.


Throughout his career, Itliong fought for the rights of Filipino farmworkers, who faced discrimination and exploitation at the hands of their employers. In 1933, he joined the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and became an active member of the labor movement.


Itliong is best known for his leadership in the Delano Grape Strike, which began in September 1965. Itliong, along with other Filipino organizers, organized a strike of Filipino grape pickers against the Delano-area grape growers. This strike eventually merged with a strike by Mexican American farmworkers led by Cesar Chavez, and the two groups joined forces to form the United Farm Workers union.


Despite his contributions to the labor movement, Itliong's legacy has often been overlooked in mainstream history. However, in recent years, there has been renewed interest in his life and work, with efforts to recognize his contributions to the labor movement and to Filipino-American history.