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