Filipino American labor leaders inducted into US Labor Department Hall of Honor

Don Tagala

ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — The forgotten Filipino heroes of the 1965 Delano grape strike, one of the biggest labor struggles in American history, are finally getting the recognition they rightfully deserved.</p><p>Filipino American labor organizers and civil rights activists Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and Peter Gines Velasco were recently inducted into the US Department of Labor Hall of Honor in Washington, D.C.</p><p>&quot;The Department of Labor&#x27;s Hall of Honor is a way that we acknowledge the heroes of Labor in America and some of them are well known some of them are elected officials but in my time I have wanted to induct workers who have been invisible we&#x27;ve forgotten who are not well known but should be,&quot; Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/15/fil-am-politician-is-nyc-s-new-first-deputy-mayor-1803">Fil-Am politician is NYC&#x27;s new first deputy mayor</a></div><p>After witnessing farm workers toil under brutal conditions for meager wages, the &quot;Delano Manongs&quot; led a 5-year labor strike against their employers, the California grape growers. </p><p>The strike resulted in better pay and benefits as well as the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) Union.</p><p>Despite the harsh environment in the fields, Su said the three Filipinos saw the possibility of justice and dared to create change by demanding fairness for workers.</p><p>Latino farm workers led by American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez ultimately joined the Delano grape strike, which left a big impact on US history.</p><p>&quot;It was Larry Itliong with his fierce intellect and strategic mind who organized Filipino farm workers to say enough and to say we have to go on strike and who went to Cesar Chavez to ask him to join,&quot; Su said.</p><p>&quot;It was Philip Vera Cruz who with so much eloquence and resolve insisted that movements must transcend their leaders to endure... and it was Peter Velasco who was so steadfast and principled in unifying the Filipino community with a quiet determination that proved unshakable.&quot; </p><p>Families of the Delano Manongs received the honor on their behalf. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/27/daly-city-launches-affordable-housing-project-for-teachers-school-staff-2300">Daly City launches affordable housing project for teachers, school staff</a></div><p>Sandra Itliong-Bowman, daughter of Larry Itliong who also worked in the field, said her father and other farmworkers were brought into the US with big promises — only to live in camps with little water and little electricity.  </p><p>&quot;My father said, if he’s gonna stay here he&#x27;s gonna make it better, he&#x27;s going to make better life for everyone else... He stood up, he was the voice for the people who could not speak English. So these men are the men who fought for everybody and it&#x27;s not just for Filipinos, they also fought for the Mexicans,&quot; Itliong–Bowman said.</p><p>&quot;It was equal, that was for everybody, and now here we are recognizing him and the two, and uncle Pete and uncle Phillip, they&#x27;re our uncles, and this is just a glorious day for us,&quot; she added.</p><p>US Department of Labor District Director Danny Pasquil called the three Filipino Americans &quot;very important farm labor leaders.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Today we stand on their shoulders to promote this -- but they also reflect the -- all of the manongs and manangs from the early generations that came over here my grandparents in the 20s and so not only are the three represented today but they represent all the manongs,&quot; Pasquil said.</p><p>&quot;Today at the celebration, this history, the story is the reason why I became an attorney and it&#x27;s the reason that that brought me to the US Department of Labor to enforce labor laws that protect workers,&quot; US Department of Labor Trial Attorney Jennifer Sta. Ana said. </p><p>Filipino Americans who witnessed history as young activists back then said the Manongs&#x27; examples as labor leaders set them on a path for public service to continue advocating for workers&#x27; rights, especially immigrant workers.</p><p>&quot;Manong Phillip shared with us that our struggle never stops, our struggle never stops here in this country just like you know in America, it&#x27;s the pursuit of a more perfect union that democracy is never done. The work of democracy is never done and the work of justice is never done,&quot; said Mark Pulido, former mayor of Cerritos, California.</p><p>&quot;Remember what your rights are as a taxpayer in this country and fight for them. And hold your elected officials from the city to the county level the state level accountable. We&#x27;ve just got to get politically involved and you gotta speak up for your rights as a worker,&quot; said Luisa Blue from President Joe Biden&#x27;s Advisory Commission on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b_Y0MdKPwrU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The forgotten Filipino heroes of the 1965 Delano grape strike are finally getting the recognition they rightfully deserved.</p>

The forgotten Filipino heroes of the 1965 Delano grape strike are finally getting the recognition they rightfully deserved.

3 Filipino American inducted into US Labor Department Hall of Honor | ABS-CBN

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3 Filipino American inducted into US Labor Department Hall of Honor

3 Filipino American inducted into US Labor Department Hall of Honor

Don Tagala,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 28, 2024 11:57 AM PHT

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Updated Nov 28, 2024 12:01 PM PHT

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Delano Manongs

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