09/02/2026
CA Leaders Mark 61st Anniversary of the Great Delano Grape Strike, Stands with Elected Officials to Recognize Filipino Farmworker Leadership
In commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the Great Delano Grape Strike, the Larry Itliong AAPI Coalition, members of the Los Angeles City Council, and other local government offices, held a press conference on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, from 1:00 - 2:00 pm at the LA City Hall Spring Street staircase. This event recognized the leadership of Filipinos in the farm worker movement when more than 800 Filipino farm workers, led by Larry Itliong and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), walked off the fields on September 8, 1965, to demand a union contract, higher wages, improved piece-rate pay, clean drinking water, and access to restrooms in the fields. The event highlighted the 5-year-long fight; and how Filipino workers' organized strikes and unions provided the backbone of AWOC and made their historic labor victory possible. Soon after, AWOC, independent UFW, and NFWA merged into the UFWOC and drove the National Grape Boycott.
Led by the Larry Itliong AAPI coalition, the press conference uplifted the group’s efforts to ensure that Filipino farmworker leaders, other AAPI organizers and other farmworker leadership of the UFW are recognized and celebrated in the process of renaming the numerous public assets, streets, and memorials dedicated to Cesar Chavez.
