![]() ![]() Yet, the pay was meager and required constant relocation. He worked as “houseboy” for a few families, where he cleaned homes and property. Like many other Filipinos, Vera Cruz “followed the seasons.” Vera Cruz worked a variety of low-wage jobs, from working in an Alaskan cannery, a box factory in Cosmopolis, Washington, a North Dakota farm, a country club in Spokane, Washington, and restaurants across Washington to Chicago, Illinois. Thus, many manongs spent their years as laborers and without families into their old age.įinding work was also a challenge. Consequently, Filipinos were then reclassified as “aliens.” This act then cut off over one hundred thousand migrant Filipino workers from Filipina women of their generation. In 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine Independence Act, restricted immigration from the Philippines and set the foundation for a ten-year transition to Philippine national independence from the United States. Other legislative restrictions prevented many Filipino men from forming families in the United States. ![]() Anti-miscegenation laws in California prevented Filipinos from marrying white women. Instead of better opportunities, they faced racial discrimination, oppressive labor practices, anti-miscegenation laws, and deplorable living conditions. Vera Cruz, along with other Filipinos, arrived right before the economic shock of the Great Depression. ![]() Rather, many Filipino immigrants wanted to return to the Philippines after making some money for their families and gaining educational and work experience. Their relocation was not meant to be permanent. Early Filipino immigrants, mostly single men, left their homeland to seek out better opportunities in the job market and the educational system. Vera Cruz reminisces in his oral history: “I kept reminding myself of my goal for going to America: to study, get a job, save money, and return to help my family.” įrom the beginning of the US colonial period in 1898 to 1934, Filipinos were technically non-citizen US nationals who were permitted to enter and move around the country. The Situation of the Early Filipino Immigrant Vera Cruz entered the continental United States through Seattle, Washington in 1926. Then, at the age of 20, he embarked on the steamship, Empress of Asia, out of Manila to the United States. As a teenager, Vera Cruz traveled to Lingayen for school where he learned from American teachers. He spent his childhood tending to water buffalo on his family’s farm. He was the eldest child to his parents, Andriano Sanchez Vera Cruz and Maria Villamin, of Saoang, San Juan. ![]() Philip Villamin Vera Cruz was born Decemin the Philippine province of Ilocos Sur, then a United States territory. Vera Cruz’s life and legacy offers a look into Filipino American labor history, transnational politics, and community activism. Manong (pronounced “Mah-noh-ng” in northern Philippine language, Ilokano), is a term of affection and respect, best translated as older male relative or older brother. While he emerged as a prominent leader within the farmworkers movement, his story and experience reflect the greater challenges of the “manong generation” – one of the first waves of Filipino migrant workers who came to the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Vera Cruz is best known for his role in the Delano Farmworkers strike and boycott, and his leadership in UFW, where he served as the second vice-president. He played a central role in founding the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. Philip Vera Cruz was a Filipino American labor organizer, farmworker, and leader in the Asian American and civil rights movement. ![]()
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