United Farm Workers AFL-CIO Flag

In 1966 Chávez and Huerta’s National Farm Workers Association merged with the Agricultural Workers Organization Committee, which was led by the Filipino Larry Itliong, to become The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC, later UFW). The UFW’s red-and-white flag with the black silhouette of an eagle (an important animal in Aztec mythology) evokes the Mexican roots of the union’s larger constituency. The word “Huelga,” featured on top, is Spanish and Filipino for strike.

Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution