Starting on January 31, the strike lasted until March 8, when the two sides agreed to arbitration that led to a wage increase for the pecan shellers.
[3] An increased rate of tuberculosis among the shellers was also pinned on the lack of proper ventilation and an abundance of pecan particulates in the workrooms.
That same year, the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA), affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), granted a charter to the San Antonio pecan shellers with the understanding that the union would include other labor groups.
[5] This included the San Antonio branch of the Workers Alliance of America, founded a year prior by Emma Tenayuca to help assist the pecan shellers.
[10] Initially, the faction of the Pecan Shellers' Union organized around Gonsen were unsupportive of the strike, but the UCAPAWA offered its support for the strikers.
[13] In an interview with the San Antonio Light, the police chief argued that there was no strike and that the incident was part of a ploy by communists and not sanctioned by the CIO.
[14] Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Antonio Arthur Jerome Drossaerts also spoke out against the strike and praised efforts by the police.
[17] As tensions increased, Texas governor James V. Allred ordered an investigation into possible violations of civil liberties, with a meeting held on February 14 chaired by the assistant state attorney.
[17] Following this, the pecan shelling industry turned to mechanization, and by 1941 approximately 10,000 shellers permanently lost their jobs,[17] though many found new employment as the United States mobilized for World War II.
[21] Following the strike, Maverick, who had lost reelection for the House of Representatives, successfully ran for mayor of San Antonio in 1938, with major support from Mexican Americans in the city.