Governor Newsom proclaims Larry Itliong Day

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring October 25, 2026 as "Larry Itliong Day."

The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below.

PROCLAMATION

California celebrates the trailblazing labor leader and civil rights champion Larry Itliong. Itliong was born in the Philippines, later immigrating to the United States as a teenager to continue his education - and begin his life's work: empowering others.

Growing up in the United States in the 1930s, Itliong, and many other Filipinos, faced injustice and discrimination. Itliong did not accept this reality; his first-hand experience of racism and economic injustice gave rise to a lifetime of activism. As a migrant laborer in the fisheries and canneries of Alaska, Itliong helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union to secure better working conditions, including an eight-hour workday with overtime. Itliong went on to serve in World War II and later settled in Stockton, where he continued his organizing efforts. There, Itliong helped organize the Asparagus Strike of 1948 - the first major agricultural strike after World War II - and in 1956, he founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton. Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and other leaders also helped create the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.

Emerging as a leader in the watershed farm labor movement, Itliong allied with grape workers in the Coachella Valley in their fight for better wages. In 1965, Itliong and fellow Manongs - respected elders in the Filipino-American community - organized against exploitative grape growers in Delano. Shortly after, the Manongs joined forces with farmworker leaders and the National Farmworkers Association, later joining to create the United Farm Workers of America, beginning a nationwide boycott of grapes that led to the first farmworker union contracts.

Mr. Itliong had an incredible impact on our state and advocacy for those without a voice. During Filipino American Heritage Month, we take the 113th anniversary of his birth to recognize an extraordinary man and remember the pride and courage he and the Manongs embodied and inspired. Let us remember their message of "Isang Bagsak!" - we are all connected, and we rise and fall together.

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim October 25, 2026 as "Larry Itliong Day."

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 25th day of October 2026

GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California

ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State