On their ballots Tuesday, Oklahoma voters will see State Question 832, an initiative proposing a minimum wage increase in Oklahoma, but it’s unclear if the question would affect OU student employees.
The proposal would amend the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act, increasing Oklahoma’s minimum wage to $12 per hour. Minimum wage would then increase annually by $1.50, reaching a final rate of $15 per hour by 2029. Beginning in 2030, minimum wage would automatically increase without approval from Congress or the Oklahoma legislature, based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s measured cost of living.
If passed, SQ 832 would go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Federal and state employees would also be excluded from SQ 832’s wage increases, leaving confusion surrounding the status of OU’s student workers.
Oklahoma’s current minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour, making it one of 20 states to use the federal minimum wage. State Question 832 also proposes that certain exemptions in the current Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act would be removed, which would allow groups such as domestic service workers and certain students and individuals under 18 to receive the raised minimum wage.
The ballot states, “This measure eliminates several exemptions in the current (Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act), including the exemptions for employers subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act; part-time employees; certain students and individuals under age 18; … Effectively, eliminating these exemptions results in current employees not covered by the OMWA now being entitled to the minimum wage.”
The ballot does not outright address student employees at public universities, leaving room for interpretation.
The Daily contacted a communications representative of Raise The Wage Oklahoma, which is an organization supporting State Question 832, who said she believed students would get a pay raise but suggested contacting the university.
OU Daily contacted OU Marketing and Communications to ask if students are considered state employees, but was directed to the state attorney general's office.
The attorney general’s office told the Daily it is not authorized to give legal advice to private citizens. The Daily was directed to contact an OU law professor or a private lawyer.
The Daily contacted OU College of Law but has not heard back by the time of publication.
The Daily also contacted an OU economics professor, but has not heard back by the time of publication.
The Daily reached out to Payroll Services and Human Resources at OU but was redirected to Human Resources Compensation and has not heard back by the time of publication.
Student perspectives
Linda Teske, a language arts education freshman, works as a student supervisor in the residential colleges cafeteria. Teske said a wage increase would make her feel more financially secure and give her time to balance work and leisure.
“I chose to work 24 hours (a week) this semester, which was manageable, but it also took away from my social life, …” Teske said. “It’s always at the cost of, ‘Do you want to work more to make more, or do you want to work less and keep up?’”
Teske has worked in Oklahoma since she was 16 and said raising the minimum wage would benefit all employees.
“I know my supervisors, who are like full time, don’t get paid much more than I do,” Teske said. “I think raising the minimum wage would also help them because I know they aren’t students, so they’re paying for housing and groceries and bills.”
Alisah Rodriguez, an aviation management and journalism freshman, works three jobs, including on-campus food service. Rodriguez said she works 20-25 hours weekly to pay for school.
“What I would make at home is probably around $15 an hour, …” Rodriguez said. “And here, it’s less, and now I just have more expenses.”
Rodriguez, who is from Houston, Texas, said despite the cost of rent being higher in her hometown, living in Norman has a similar cost of living.
“The cost of the things that I would buy already, like food and clothes and those sorts of things, are already kind of the same here,” Rodriguez said. “The only difference is the cost of rent and land, but that’s also not necessarily cheap and affordable here, because here’s a college town where it’s just so in demand.”
Teddy Winter, an electrical engineering and film and media studies senior, works as a campus tour guide. He said a minimum wage increase would help him with time management and relieve stress.
“I think it can be a little bit of a mental wear down, where you’re just talking to people a lot, and so working a lot can just take that toll on you,” Winter said.
Winter said he believes the minimum wage raise reflects a trend across states.
“You do have to increase minimum wage to reflect that cost of living, and that is increasing either way,” Winter said.
Winter said he encourages everyone with a strong opinion to contact their representatives.
“If that’s something you believe in, stand up for it,” Winter said.
Critics say
Those in opposition to SQ 832, such as the State Chamber of Oklahoma, have voiced their concerns that a wage increase would result in price hikes.
“When a state or city hikes its minimum wage, the result is fewer employment opportunities, higher costs for consumers, increased business failures or some combination of those three signs of economic destruction,” the chamber wrote on its website.
Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the chamber, wrote in a press release that the chamber is concerned about the wage increases post-2029.
“What is a major concern to us is the automatic, open-ended increase being linked to a federal government produced index that is based upon cost-of-living rates in cities like New York or San Francisco. Those areas are not reflective of the actual cost of living in Oklahoma. This ill-conceived plan would give Oklahomans no opportunity to adjust or halt these automatic increases,” Warmington wrote.
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton, Audrey McClour and Reagan Rozzi. Larkin Bock, Tori Pham, Kennedy Johnson and Parker Newman copy edited this story.
