Local farmer shares concerns about minimum wage state question. (Mason Bolay)
PERRY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma’s primary election is one week away, and voters will decide on a state question to raise the minimum wage.
Farmers across the state are raising concerns about the state question, including Perry farmer Mason Bolay.
State Question 832 would gradually raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma. If the state question passes, the minimum wage would be sitting at $15 an hour in 2029. Then, it would automatically increase based on the CPI-W index after that.
Some exemptions would also go away under the state question.
“It takes away the ag exemption, which ag is very seasonal,” Bolay said. “This week we’ve been putting in 60 hours, 70 hours a week and next week we’ll maybe only put in 20 or 30 hours with the rain that’s coming in. And so, we would have to pay overtime if 832 is put into play.”
Bolay is also raising concerns about what this means for when his sons help out on the farm.
“I’ve got my two boys that are with me, 11 and 9, and by law I would be required to pay them state minimum wage,” he said.
Bolay said the state question would put a strain on working capital and cash flow for farms.
“And, the ability to hire labor. We can’t pay everybody overtime. We’re all about paying a fair wage and I would say… most of my colleagues pay a fair wage,” Bolay told FOX 25.
Raise the Wage Oklahoma spokesperson, Amber England, said family farmers who are concerned likely fall under the small business exemption built into the policy for employers with less than 10 employees and who gross less than $100,000 a year.
“I also think that we are saying with this state question that we believe that it is time for the minimum wage to go up. That the minimum wage has stayed the same since 2009 and the cost of everything keeps going up, gas, groceries, housing,” England said. “And really, what causes small businesses and small farms the, what costs them the most are things like the cost of fertilizer, the cost to get their tractors repaired, the cost of turnover in their business and at their farm when they have to, when they lose an employee because someone down the street pays better. So, I think this could actually save farmers money.”
Bolay told FOX 25 his farm would not qualify for the small business exemption.
The primary election is on June 16.
