The Delano Grape Strike

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September 1965 was a milestone year for American farmworkers in California. On September 8 of that year, the historic Delano Grape Strike began, initiated by Fil-Am union leaders Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco. On September 16, the Mexican workers joined the striking Filipinos. It took five years before the American grape growers yielded and the strikers declared victory. As photographer/chronicler David Bacon wrote, "The strike was a watershed struggle for civil and labor rights, supported by millions of people across the country, breathing new life into the labor movement and opening doors for immigrants and people of color."

Historian/writer Alex S. Fabros, Jr. was there in Delano (and before that, Coachella) as part of the grape-picking workforce when the strike began. In part 4 of his series on that historic year, he gives an insider view of what was happening in the Filipino worker camps in preparation for the strike, as well as the strike's early days. His actual participation lasted only 10 days though because he was drafted into the US military to fight in Vietnam. On September 19, 1965, as his fellow farm workers continued their march towards rewriting American labor union history, Fabros was on his way to boot camp to begin a life that defined his personal history.

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