Re elect Virgil Duyungan, page 1 [pamphlet], Bicentennial Oral History Program, Filipino Oral History Project, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives

In 1933, Cannery Workers’ and Farm Labors’ Union Local 18257 was organized as the first Filipino-led union in the United States. The union elected Virgil Duyungan as their first president, a founding member who had been instrumental in organizing the union.

As October’s Filipino American History Month and Washington Archives Month begin, we are excited to share more about the recent digitization the Filipino Bicentennial Oral History Project and the Filipino voices in our collections. Read more below!

[Delegates of the constitutional convention at the Territorial Capitol, Olympia, Washington], 1889, Inauguration of Governor Ferry Photographs, 1889, Washington State Archives.

In the summer of 1889, seventy-five delegates from around Washington Territory convened in Olympia to take a major step towards securing statehood. Between July 4th and August 22nd, 1889, the delegation drafted the Washington State Constitution, forming the basis for all future Washington laws.