WHEREAS, Larry Itliong was born on October 25, 1913, in San Nicolas, Pangasinan - a province in the Philippines. At the age of 15, he left his homeland and arrived in the United States in 1929; and

WHEREAS, he immediately began working as a migrant laborer in the Alaskan fish canneries and in response to poor treatment of laborers in 1930 he founded the Alaska Cannery Workers Union. Within a year of founding the union he fought for a contract that gave workers an eight-hour workday with overtime. Through this work, Larry Itliong surfaced as a leader in the Filipino-American community of "Manongs" - respected elder workers who were instrumental in shaping the labor movement; and

WHEREAS, after Larry Itliong served his country in World War II, He settled in Stockton California where he helped organize the asparagus strike of 1948, founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton in 1956, and along with Philip Vera Cruz and other Manong leaders that helped create the Agricultural Workers Organization Committee; and

WHEREAS, in 1965 he fought alongside grape workers in the Coachella Valley for increased pay and after that victory, the Manongs voted in September 1965 to organize against grape growers in Delano who were exploiting workers. Shortly after, the Manongs joined forces with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the National Farm Workers Association, beginning a nationwide boycott of grapes that lasted 5 years and led to the first farmworkers union contracts; and

WHEREAS, all workers in Nevada benefit from the gains in worker safety, better working conditions, and rights for workers that Larry Itliong fought for; and

WHEREAS, Filipino's make up 15% of the immigrant population in Nevada, the second largest immigrant population in our State; and

WHEREAS, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic farmworkers sustained not only Nevada but the whole Nation; and

WHEREAS, after leading a life devoted to advancing farmworker rights, social justice, and revolutionizing the West Coast labor movement, Larry Itliong passed away in 1977 from Lou Gehrig's disease; and

WHEREAS, today, on the 109th anniversary of his birth we honor the great contributions of Larry Itliong and the Manongs;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, STEVE SISOLAK, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim October 21, 2022, as a day in honor of

LARRY ITLIONG