John Delloro ’94, ’96

Nationally recognized labor leader John Delloro made a profound impact on the Asian American community. While studying at UCLA, he was a well-known student leader and activist and co-founded the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles. He was an organizer of the Jessica McClintock Boycott after the clothing manufacturer refused to pay the wages of Asian immigrant garment workers who had already rendered their services. Upon graduating from UCLA with a master’s degree in Asian American Studies, he became an organizer for the Service Employees International Union, where he helped workers in California and Las Vegas unionize, including at the hospital where his mother worked. He would later become the first director of the Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, a Los Angeles Community College District multicampus program, where he worked at all nine campuses to advance labor studies and organize for worker rights. He also taught some of the most popular courses for UCLA Asian American Studies and the Los Angeles Trade Technical College Labor Studies program. In 2009, Delloro became one of the youngest presidents of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO. He will be remembered as an inspiring and dedicated teacher and mentor to countless students, organizers, and rank-and-file workers, a brilliant labor leader, a trusted friend and colleague to many, a loving husband and family member, and an especially loving father to Mina and Malcolm.