| 2 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
|---|
| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1966 and 1967, Latino farmworkers in the lower |
|---|
| 6 | 7 | | Rio Grande Valley banded together to fight for higher wages and |
|---|
| 7 | 8 | | better working conditions in what came to be known as the Starr |
|---|
| 8 | 9 | | County Melon Strike; and |
|---|
| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, In the mid-1960s, workers on Texas farms were making |
|---|
| 10 | 11 | | around 40 cents an hour, and they often labored through long days in |
|---|
| 11 | 12 | | the hot sun, in fields with no access to toilets or fresh water; the |
|---|
| 12 | 13 | | workers sought the help of Cesar Chavez and the National Farm |
|---|
| 13 | 14 | | Workers Association, which later became known as the United Farm |
|---|
| 14 | 15 | | Workers, and in May 1966, organizer Eugene Nelson of the NFWA |
|---|
| 15 | 16 | | arrived in Rio Grande City; and |
|---|
| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, With the guidance of Mr. Nelson, the farm laborers |
|---|
| 17 | 18 | | met in a movie theater and established the Independent Workers' |
|---|
| 18 | 19 | | Association, and on June 1, 1966, 400 people went on strike against |
|---|
| 19 | 20 | | six melon farms in Starr County, demanding a wage of $1.25 an hour |
|---|
| 20 | 21 | | and recognition as a labor bargaining entity; many of the strikers |
|---|
| 21 | 22 | | were arrested and some were beaten; the courts later held that a |
|---|
| 22 | 23 | | number of the laws used to justify the arrests were |
|---|
| 23 | 24 | | unconstitutional; and |
|---|
| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Seeking to increase public awareness of their |
|---|
| 25 | 26 | | struggle, the workers began a 400-mile, two-month march to the |
|---|
| 26 | 27 | | State Capitol on July 4, 1966; along the way, the marchers met with |
|---|
| 27 | 28 | | Governor John Connally in New Braunfels, and on Labor Day, they |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | | rallied with 10,000 supporters on the grounds of the statehouse; as |
|---|
| 29 | 30 | | a result of "La Marcha," such groups as the Texas Council of |
|---|
| 30 | 31 | | Churches, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the U.S. Senate |
|---|
| 31 | 32 | | Subcommittee on Migratory Labor began to focus on the plight of |
|---|
| 32 | 33 | | workers in the Rio Grande Valley; and |
|---|
| 33 | 34 | | WHEREAS, The strike came to an end in 1967, but it sowed the |
|---|
| 34 | 35 | | seeds of a Latino rights movement in South Texas and eventually |
|---|
| 35 | 36 | | helped bring about increased wages and the passage of state and |
|---|
| 36 | 37 | | federal laws that required farm owners to provide sanitation and |
|---|
| 37 | 38 | | clean drinking water for laborers; and |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, Half a century ago, proud Latino farmworkers and |
|---|
| 39 | 40 | | their allies joined together to fight for economic justice and |
|---|
| 40 | 41 | | their fundamental human rights, forging a heroic and influential |
|---|
| 41 | 42 | | chapter in the history of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|---|
| 43 | 44 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Starr |
|---|
| 44 | 45 | | County Melon Strike. |
|---|