January 31, 1938
Pecan shellers in San Antonio went on strike when the owners of the company announced a pay cut. When reduction in pay was announced, the workers walked out of the shacks and the next day the strike was officially called by the Pecan Shelling Workers’ Union. During the 1930s, the biggest employer of Hispanic women in San Antonio was the pecan shelling industry. Shellers worked twelve-hour days, seven days a week for $1.50 to $2.00. The working conditions of these women were difficult. On the West side of the city, there were about 400 shacks with around 100 or so workers in each. In these shacks were long tables with women huddled around them, poor lighting, no indoor toilets or washbowls, and inadequate ventilation. The air was contaminated by a fine brown dust from the pecans, which contributed to the high death rate due to tuberculosis.
