Larry Itliong’s son says Cesar Chavez took credit for union organizing led by Filipino farmworkers

Jonny Itliong said Cesar Chavez took credit for organizing work led by his father, United Farm Workers co-founder Larry Itliong, during the formation of the union. Sexual assault allegations against Chavez have prompted renewed scrutiny of his record. In an interview with Action News, he said Filipino farmworkers organized through the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee launched the 1965 Delano grape strike before seeking a merger with Chavez’s group.

Regarded as a labor rights icon. Larry Itliong mobilized Filipino laborers and led the strike that preceded the formation of the United Farm Workers. Jonny Itliong identified the Delano grape strike as the point when his father moved to merge efforts with Chavez’s National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers.

“I’ve been trying to expose Chavez’s misdoings as far as with my father, trying to take the credit for my father who started the union and organized,” he told Action News. “It’s unfortunate that it has to happen this way, but I’m glad that it’s finally happening.”

Jonny Itliong also criticized how Filipino contributions have been represented in accounts of the movement, including comments attributed to Dolores Huerta about organizing efforts. “We’ve been trying to correct the history of the UFW and get the stories out, and you know the truth, the truth of it all.”

Sexual assault allegations reported in a New York Times investigation include claims by Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, who said Chavez abused them when they were minors. Dolores Huerta, a UFW co-founder, also said Chavez raped her in a separate account reported by the Times. Chavez died in 1993.

Jonny Itliong expressed support for individuals who have come forward. “My heart goes out to all of you, all of the victims.”

Dr. Alina Mendez, a Chicano studies associate professor at California State University, Fresno, said recent scholarship has examined broader contributions to the labor movement. “More and more authors have been trying to make the argument that we should reframe the way that we understand the movement, that we should take a step back at the contributions that so many people made.”

The United Farm Workers held a protest outside the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno on Wednesday. UFW President Teresa Romero addressed the allegations. “I would ask everybody to not try to justify anything that happened, not to condone it. It was wrong, and respecting victims is the most important thing.”

Some institutions have begun reconsidering Chavez’s legacy. At Fresno State, a statue of Chavez on campus was covered and is expected to be removed, and communities have discussed renaming schools and public spaces that bear his name.