1966 Farm Workers Rally and March

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. Receiving no satisfaction from the growers and facing violence from local authorities, the farm workers began a 380-mile march to the state capitol in Austin to urge officials to create a statewide minimum wage. The group began on July 5, 1966, in Rio Grande City, rested at homes along the way, and gained support from each community it encountered. The Texas AFL-CIO provided supplies and financial support. The marchers reached Robstown on July 29, 1966, where supporters held a rally at the Knights of Columbus hall and a mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, and provided food and lodging. The next morning, they marched into Corpus Christi along Hwy 44 (Agnes Street), encouraged by hundreds of local supporters. A mass was held at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, and a rally at the Peoples Street T-head to benefit the strike and march drew more than 800 people and raised over $1,000. From Corpus Christi, they continued to Austin, meeting obstacles but gaining support along the way. The march culminated in Austin with 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 shift that increased the number of Mexican American elected officials and further mobilized the Chicano Civil Rights movement in Texas.

Corpus Christi, Texas · United States