On June 1, 1966, 700 Starr County melon farm workers went on strike to protest wages beneath the national minimum wage and harsh working conditions. Eugene Nelson of the National Farm Workers Association came to south Texas, organized the Affiliated Independent Workers Association, and led the strike against La Casita Farms and other area growers. Two local men who had called for reform years earlier, Margil Sanchez and Lucio Galvan, joined him. After receiving no satisfaction from the growers and facing violence from local authorities, the workers began a 380-mile march from Rio Grande City to the state capitol in Austin on July 5, 1966, urging officials to create a statewide minimum wage. Along the way they rested at homes, gained support in community after community, and received supplies and financial support from the Texas AFL-CIO. They reached Robstown on July 29, 1966, where supporters held a rally at the Knights of Columbus hall, a mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, and provided food and lodging. The next morning they marched into Corpus Christi along Hwy 44, also known as Agnes Street, encouraged by hundreds of local supporters. A mass at the Corpus Christi Cathedral and a rally at the Peoples Street T-head drew more than 800 people and raised over $1,000 for the strike and march. The march then continued to Austin, overcoming obstacles and gathering more support, and culminated in a Labor Day 1966 rally attended by more than 10,000 people. Significant effects included the eventual passage of the 1971 State Minimum Hourly Wage Law, though it did not apply to farm workers, and a political revolution that increased the number of Mexican American elected officials and further mobilized the Chicano Civil Rights movement in Texas.