Philip Vera Cruz ♂️

Philip Vera Cruz (1900 – 1994) was a Filipino American labor leader and union organizer who played an important role in creating a unified United Farm Workers (UFW) out of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) in the United States. Born in the Philippines in 1900, Vera Cruz immigrated to the United States in 1923 where he began working on farms in California. He became a U.S. citizen in 1939 and briefly worked in the defense industry during World War II. After the war, he returned to farm work and quickly gained a reputation as an effective union leader among the agricultural workers. He joined the NFWA in 1961 and was an early supporter of Cesar Chavez and the NFWA’s efforts to unionize farm workers in the U.S. In 1965, Vera Cruz played a central role in the merger of the NFWA and AWOC to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). He was elected as the UFW’s first vice president and served as a key advisor to Chavez during the early years of the union. Throughout his career in the UFW, Vera Cruz worked to improve the lives of farm workers by fighting for higher wages and improved working conditions. He was also a strong advocate for civil rights, leading the UFW’s integration of its leadership in the 1970s. Vera Cruz retired from the UFW in 1978 but continued to advocate for farm workers until his death in 1994. He is remembered as a tireless labor leader who dedicated his life to improving the lives of agricultural workers. He is often cited as a major inspiration for the modern farm labor movement and his legacy remains strong among the many workers who continue to organize and fight for their rights today.