[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO PETER G. VELASCO

                                 ______


                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 18, 1995

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today with a great 
deal of sadness to honor the memory of Peter G. Velasco.
  A true labor pioneer, Pete Velasco was among the Filipino-American 
farmworker leaders whose tenacity inspired Cesar Chavez in the first 
grape strike in Delano, CA, and provided a strong foundation for what 
late became the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO.
  Even before his many years of work as an officer in the farmworker 
movement, brother Pete Velasco was an early and enduring example of the 
multifaceted contributions of the Filipino-American community to our 
society. Working first in the Los Angeles food service industry, he 
went on to distinguished service in the U.S. Army in Europe during 
World War II before returning to the Central Valley of California as a 
farmworker.
  Not content merely to try to eke out a living in the fields, Pete 
Velasco helped to organize his fellow workers, forging the first link 
between farmworkers and the AFL-CIO, which later proved essential to 
Cesar Chavez' work as president of the new, united organization.
  Today we can see a resurgence in the AFL-CIO that has at its roots 
the contribution of many men and women--among them ``Brother Pete''--
over many years. May that resurgence provide a way that we can all 
celebrate the life of Peter G. Velasco and the movement he helped to 
build.

                          ____________________