Bill Text: TX HR2709 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Starr County Melon Strike.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-31 - Reported enrolled [HR2709 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR2709-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 2709 |
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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. | ||
Guillen | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 2709 was adopted by the House on May | ||
29, 2017, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||