[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 86 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E660-E661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE OF ANTONIO ``TONY'' ORENDAIN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VICENTE GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2017

  Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
civil rights leader Antonio ``Tony'' Orendain, who passed away on April 
12, 2016.
  Antonio was born on May 28, 1930, in Etzatlan, Mexico. At the age of 
20, armed with little more than a sixth-grade education and an 
unwavering desire to succeed and sustain himself, he pursued a brighter 
future in the United States. Soon after arriving, he moved to Los 
Angeles where he worked in the fields of California and met Cesar 
Chavez.
  Inspired by the teachings of Chavez, Antonio became a lifelong 
activist, fighting to ensure that farm workers would one day be allowed 
to put a fair price on the sweat from their own brow. Antonio advocated 
for agricultural workers across the country, calling for higher wages 
and better working conditions. He later joined the Community Service 
Organization, a coalition dedicated to civil rights.
  In the summer of 1969, Antonio and his family moved to the Rio Grande 
Valley. In 1975 he established the Texas Farm Workers Union, an 
organization dedicated to shortening the 14-hour workday and increasing 
wages for

[[Page E661]]

farmworkers in South Texas. Antonio later led members of the local 
United Farm Workers Organizing Committee on a march to the middle of 
the Roma Bridge. The group straddled the international boundary 
chanting ``Nosotros Venceremos,'' We Shall Overcome, in support of 
their mission to improve the lives of agricultural laborers.
  In February 1977, Antonio led a group of 40 farmworkers on a march 
for basic human rights from San Juan, Texas, to Austin, Texas, where 
they met with then-Governor Dolph Briscoe. The group traveled further 
north to Washington, D.C., where the march ended. By the time they 
reached the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the group had grown to 
nearly 10,000 people.
  For decades, Antonio fought to ensure that farmworkers would have 
``at least the basic necessities that the rest of society is used to.'' 
Antonio will long be remembered for his commitment to safeguarding 
farmworkers' rights and ending the exploitation of our nation's 
vulnerability.
  Mr. Speaker, today we honor a champion of civil rights and a defender 
of the vulnerable. While Antonio Orendain is no longer with us, his 
contributions and revolutionary ideals will continue to inspire us. It 
is a privilege to honor this South Texas champion of equality.

                          ____________________