A few days before what would’ve been Cesar Chavez’s 87th birthday, a biographic film of his life was released in major theaters. The film chronicles the birth of the American labor movement and tells the story of how Chavez used his platform of nonviolence to combat the gross violation of farm workers’ rights. Chavez ignited a civil and human rights movement grounded on the power of grassroots movements that we still continue to move forward today.
In light of the triumphant stories exhibited in the film, the pivotal role of Filipino-American farmworkers was underrepresented. Filipino farm workers were on the front lines of the breakthrough Delano grape strike of 1965. The strike lasted more than five years and served as a significant victory for the United Farm Workers (UFW), who succeeded in obtaining a first contract with table grape growers in California. The strike would not have been possible had it not been for the strength and courage of mostly Filipino farm workers in Delano, CA led by Filipino leaders such as Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong, Benjamin Gines, and Pete Velasco. Their brave actions – including tactics of nonviolent resistance such as boycotts, marches, and community organizing – provided much-needed national attention to the suffering of some of the country’s lowest-paid and most exploited workers.
From coast to coast, Filipino American farmworkers and braceros toiled in the same sun-beaten fields for a meager pay and were subject to racist and discriminatory laws. Yet, whereas Cesar Chavez’s legacy has only continued to grow, Philip Vera Cruz’s has barely scratched the surface of modern American history. It was the Delano strike that told vineyard workers across California they are not alone, and in solidarity they are more powerful than they ever imagined. Even before the outbreak of the Delano strike, Filipino workers launched work stoppages in the fields of California in the 1930s that led the way for the success of Delano and forged relationships between Filipino and Mexican farmworkers that increased their overall strength.
Moreover, Philip Vera Cruz’s monumental work in the Asian-American civil rights movement contributed significantly to the success of what would eventually become the UFW, but his work and that of his contemporaries were only skimmed over in the film. Vera Cruz co-founded of the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), which would later merge with Chavez’s National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) to become the UFW. During his time as the vice-president of UFW, Vera Cruz mobilized fellow Filipino-Americans and other supporters of the labor movement to improve working conditions and civil rights for migrant workers.
As we continue to honor Cesar Chavez’s life work, we must also not forget that his successes may not have been possible without the equally influential work of Philip Vera Cruz and other prominent members of the Filipino-American community. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were a political force to be reckoned with during the advent of the American labor movement and remain so today.
This article was written by William Chiang and Elisa Eap from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA). William is the Membership & Chapter Coordinator/Policy Analyst with APALA and Elisa is the APALA National Intern.
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