AUSTIN, Texas — This week marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a time to salute the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
On Monday, Austin marks a local milestone that led to the first Hispanic representation in local government. A monument will be unveiled at the Richard Moya Eastside Bus Plaza to commemorate The Economy Furniture Strike of 1968.
The name doesn’t sound important, but the local fight for labor rights was. It was the longest strike in Texas history and lasted more than two years.
Economy Furniture wasn’t a furniture store, it was an Austin-based furniture manufacturer, one of the largest in the southwest. And 90% of their employees were Hispanic.
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The workers went on strike in 1968 after…
