Date Created:
Place Created: San Antonio, Texas
Year Created: 1938
Historical Theme:
Description: The Pecan Shellers Strike was one of San Antonio’s largest labor actions. It involved approximately 12,000 pecan shellers who walked off the job to protest wage cuts and unsafe, unventilated workrooms in the city’s shelling industry. On January 31, 1938, Mexican American women shellers demanded higher pay and better working conditions. City authorities responded by arresting hundreds of picketers and shutting down soup kitchens. Governor James Allred convened a civil liberties commission to investigate police abuses amid red‑baiting campaigns. After six weeks on strike, shellers agreed on March 8 to submit to arbitration, winning a modest wage bump.
Categories of Documents:
San Antonio, Texas