Striking in Delano, Getting Drafted By Uncle Sam
/Journal of a ‘60s California Farm Worker, Part 4
These five essays are pieces of my life, each one capturing a chapter in my journey from a young migrant laborer to a United States Marine. They begin in the Imperial Valley, where I worked the lettuce fields alongside other Filipino farmworkers, learning the rhythms of planting, cutting, and packing under the desert sun. From there, the story moves to Gonzales, where the asparagus harvest tested both body and will, and where the camaraderie of the bunkhouse softened the hardships of the work.
In Coachella, the grape harvest unfolded alongside weekends in Los Angeles — a mix of backbreaking field labor and fleeting moments of youth, music, and romance. Delano follows, where I arrived in September 1965 during a turning point in farm labor history, as Filipino and Mexican workers stood together in strikes that would reshape the agricultural industry.
The final essay brings me into the United States Marine Corps, where the discipline, endurance, and teamwork I had learned in the fields became the foundation for my military service.
Together, these essays are not just my personal story, but also a record of a generation of Filipino Americans whose labor and lives were deeply woven into the history of California and the nation.
Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee members picketing in front of Filipino Community Hall as part of the Delano Grape Strike on September 24, 1965. (Source: © Harvey Richards Media Archive)
We were assigned to different grape ranches scattered around the outskirts of town. Some of us went to the larger vineyards with machines and hundreds of acres. Others, like me, were assigned to smaller growers where everything was done by hand—just a man, a grape knife, and a paper tray. The work was hard and the pay was low, but we knew the routine. We'd done this every season.
On weekends, when I had a little money and some time, I’d drive my red Buick Wildcat over the Tehachapi Pass, across Highway 58, and into Los Angeles. I’d go to UCLA, where Mariam was a student, and spend time with her. She was Chinese American, soft-spoken but sharp. We’d walk the campus, eat in Chinatown, and sometimes drive to Santa Monica Beach, where I taught her to surf. The Pacific felt like freedom—salt, sweat, sun, and no growers staring down our backs.
When we wanted privacy, we stayed at my cousin’s apartment on Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica. Maurice had a place with a view of the beach, and he always left the keys under the mat when he knew Mariam was visiting. He understood. Sometimes he’d let me borrow his red Jaguar—sleek, fast, and perfect for Sunset or a run down to Chinatown—so long as he could use my Wildcat if I had washed it. He never asked questions. He just grinned and said, “Clean up when you’re done.”
We had only been in Delano a couple of weeks when September began, but already the air was charged. Something was about to break.
September 1–5, 1965
The fields were quiet, but the men weren’t. At night in Camp 2, we heard rumors that AWOC was planning something big. One of the older manongs said he heard it from a cousin working up near Earlimart: “They’re going to call a strike if the growers don’t raise wages by next week.” [2] Some laughed, others grunted, but no one dismissed it entirely.
My grandfather stayed up one night talking to a younger worker. “The last time we struck was in Salinas, 1936,” he said. “They sent the police after us. Burned our camp down. But we stood firm. And we will again.”
Filipinos from salinas, california in delano. 1965
September 6–7, 1965
Word came through the grapevine, literally, that the growers had refused AWOC’s demand for a $1.40 hourly wage. The strike was coming.
A Filipino organizer named Pete Velasco visited our camp. He said, “They think we’ll work through anything—heat, hunger, insult. But we have a right to dignity.”
Some of the older workers nodded. Some of the younger guys were skeptical. “What happens if we strike and no one follows?” one asked. Pete replied, “If we wait for the growers to respect us, we’ll die waiting.”
September 8, 1965—STRIKE DAY
That morning, we did not go to the fields.
At 4:30 a.m., the word was passed up and down the camp: AWOC is calling the strike. All Filipino crews are asked to stand down.
I remember my grandfather pulling on his work shirt slowly. “Today we stop picking,” he said. “Today we pick up our dignity.”
By 6:00 a.m., we were on picket lines along Cecil Avenue and Glenwood Street. Some drivers honked in support. Others shouted slurs. That night, someone slashed the tires of one of our trucks. We didn’t retaliate.
September 9–12, 1965
Some workers began to doubt. There was no food fund yet. Some growers had already brought in Mexican labor. The divide worried us.
On September 10, we gathered at the Delano Filipino Community Hall. Larry Itliong stood at the front. “We will not go back. We are not animals. We are men. If we fail now, the growers will never fear us again.”
That night, my grandfather whispered, “This strike—it’s for your generation.”
Larry Itliong (Source: Wikipedia)
September 13–15, 1965
Sheriff’s deputies cruised past our lines. Growers stared from behind fences. Some stood with shotguns in plain view. We were instructed to remain calm. “Nonviolence is our strategy,” one organizer said.
On September 15, we heard Cesar Chavez’s NFWA would vote to join us. If they did, the strike would no longer be Filipino alone.
UFW officer Julio Hernandez (left) and UFW director Larry Itliong (center) with Cesar Chavez during a march in San Francisco, 1966. (Photo by Gerald L French/Corbis/Getty Images)
September 16, 1965—Unity Day
At sunset, an AWOC organizer ran into camp shouting: “They voted YES!”
That night, we sang Bayani ng Bukid and De Colores around a fire. For the first time, we believed the strike might work.
A Filipino organizer named Pete Velasco visited our camp. He said, “They think we’ll work through anything—heat, hunger, insult. But we have a right to dignity.”
September 17–18, 1965
We marched through Delano, Filipinos and Mexicans together, shoulder to shoulder. Some people cheered. Others cursed. Growers escalated their threats. Armed guards appeared. The between labor strike and racial war was now visible in broad daylight.
“This is no longer about money,” Larry said. “It’s about whether brown people can stand on California soil and demand respect.”
Filipino farmworkers were the first to walk out of vineyards in 1965, prompting the Delano Grape Strike and, ultimately, the formation of the United Farm Workers along with Mexican farmworkers led by Cesar Chavez. (Farmworker Movement Documentation Project/UC San Diego Library)
September 19, 1965—Departure
That morning, I packed my duffel. I had been drafted. Along with Robert Calison and Melvyn Esquesda, I boarded the Greyhound bus to the Oakland Induction Center.
Out the window, I watched the grapevines slide past.
They stayed behind to make history. I went off to boot camp.
Endnotes:
Bakersfield Californian, “Strike Threatens Table Grape Harvest,” September 10, 1965.
Delano Record, “Filipino Crews Report Grower Standoff,” September 5, 1965.
Los Angeles Times, “Filipino Workers Launch Vineyard Strike,” September 9, 1965.
Fresno Bee, “Delano Labor Tensions Rise,” September 13, 1965.
Delano Record, “Itliong Rallies AWOC Members,” September 10, 1965.
San Francisco Chronicle, “Delano Walkout Becomes Racial Flashpoint,” September 15, 1965.
San Francisco Chronicle, “Strike Gains Support as Tensions Rise,” September 18, 1965.
Oakland Tribune, “Farmworker Drafted During Grape Strike,” September 21, 1965.
Bibliography (Chicago Style)
Bakersfield Californian. “Strike Threatens Table Grape Harvest.” September 10, 1965.
Delano Record. “Filipino Crews Report Grower Standoff.” September 5, 1965.
Delano Record. “Itliong Rallies AWOC Members.” September 10, 1965.
Fresno Bee. “Delano Labor Tensions Rise.” September 13, 1965.
Los Angeles Times. “Filipino Workers Launch Vineyard Strike.” September 9, 1965.
Oakland Tribune. “Farmworker Drafted During Grape Strike.” September 21, 1965.
San Francisco Chronicle. “Delano Walkout Becomes Racial Flashpoint.” September 15, 1965.
San Francisco Chronicle. “Strike Gains Support as Tensions Rise.” September 18, 1965.
Suggested Reading (Pre-2003)
Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field (1939) – A classic account of California’s agricultural labor system.
Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore (1989) – Insight into the Filipino American experience.
Dorothy Fujita-Rony, American Workers, Colonial Power (2003) – Covers Filipino labor migrations.
Ernesto Galarza, Spiders in the House and Workers in the Field (1970) – Memoir of activism and organizing.
Benita Roth, Organizing Dissent (2002) – Covers AWOC, the UFW, and the strike.
Carlos Bulosan, America Is in the Heart (1946) – A foundational Filipino American labor memoir.
Alex S. Fabros, Jr. is a retired Philippine American Military History professor.
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