85R34626 JH-D
 
  By: Guillen H.R. No. 2709
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, In 1966 and 1967, Latino farmworkers in the lower
  Rio Grande Valley banded together to fight for higher wages and
  better working conditions in what came to be known as the Starr
  County Melon Strike; and
         WHEREAS, In the mid-1960s, workers on Texas farms were making
  around 40 cents an hour, and they often labored through long days in
  the hot sun, in fields with no access to toilets or fresh water; the
  workers sought the help of Cesar Chavez and the National Farm
  Workers Association, which later became known as the United Farm
  Workers, and in May 1966, organizer Eugene Nelson of the NFWA
  arrived in Rio Grande City; and
         WHEREAS, With the guidance of Mr. Nelson, the farm laborers
  met in a movie theater and established the Independent Workers'
  Association, and on June 1, 1966, 400 people went on strike against
  six melon farms in Starr County, demanding a wage of $1.25 an hour
  and recognition as a labor bargaining entity; many of the strikers
  were arrested and some were beaten; the courts later held that a
  number of the laws used to justify the arrests were
  unconstitutional; and
         WHEREAS, Seeking to increase public awareness of their
  struggle, the workers began a 400-mile, two-month march to the
  State Capitol on July 4, 1966; along the way, the marchers met with
  Governor John Connally in New Braunfels, and on Labor Day, they
  rallied with 10,000 supporters on the grounds of the statehouse; as
  a result of "La Marcha," such groups as the Texas Council of
  Churches, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the U.S. Senate
  Subcommittee on Migratory Labor began to focus on the plight of
  workers in the Rio Grande Valley; and
         WHEREAS, The strike came to an end in 1967, but it sowed the
  seeds of a Latino rights movement in South Texas and eventually
  helped bring about increased wages and the passage of state and
  federal laws that required farm owners to provide sanitation and
  clean drinking water for laborers; and
         WHEREAS, Half a century ago, proud Latino farmworkers and
  their allies joined together to fight for economic justice and
  their fundamental human rights, forging a heroic and influential
  chapter in the history of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
  Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Starr
  County Melon Strike.