Emma Tenayuca
Encyclopedia
Emma Tenayuca was a labor organizer for farm workers in San Antonio, Texas
, in the 1930s and beyond. She led Mexican
workers' movements in Texas.
Tenayuca's first knowledge of the struggles of working people came from visits as a young child to the Plaza del Zacate, a place where socialists
and anarchists
would come to speak and work with families with grievances.
She was an integral part of the historical struggle to incorporate Mexican workers into progressive US
trade union
s at a time when 88% of all Mexican workers were employed in low-paying, low-status sectors of the economy.
Tennayuca was also instrumental in one of the most famous conflicts of Texas labor history–the 1938 strike at the Southern Pecan Shelling Company. During the strike, thousands of workers at over 130 plants protested a wage reduction of one cent per pound of shelled pecans. Mexicana and Chicana
workers who picketed were gassed, arrested, and jailed. The strike ended after thirty-seven days when the city's pecan operators agreed to arbitration. In October that year, the National Labor Relations Act raised wages to twenty-five cents an hour. Thousands lost their jobs the following year as operators decided to mechanize plants in the face of rising labor costs.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, in the 1930s and beyond. She led Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
workers' movements in Texas.
Tenayuca's first knowledge of the struggles of working people came from visits as a young child to the Plaza del Zacate, a place where socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
would come to speak and work with families with grievances.
She was an integral part of the historical struggle to incorporate Mexican workers into progressive US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s at a time when 88% of all Mexican workers were employed in low-paying, low-status sectors of the economy.
Tennayuca was also instrumental in one of the most famous conflicts of Texas labor history–the 1938 strike at the Southern Pecan Shelling Company. During the strike, thousands of workers at over 130 plants protested a wage reduction of one cent per pound of shelled pecans. Mexicana and Chicana
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
workers who picketed were gassed, arrested, and jailed. The strike ended after thirty-seven days when the city's pecan operators agreed to arbitration. In October that year, the National Labor Relations Act raised wages to twenty-five cents an hour. Thousands lost their jobs the following year as operators decided to mechanize plants in the face of rising labor costs.
External links
- ACLU Texas article on Tennayuca.
- Emma Tenayuca gets her due National Catholic Reporter article about Tenayuca and about new Tenayuca biographies for children and adults.