‘It’s a disappointment’: Maine farmers say after farmworker minimum wage vetoed

WESTBROOK, Maine (WMTW) – Maine farmers are reacting to Gov. Janet Mills’ decision to veto her own bill that would have set a minimum wage for farm workers.

Mills said she supports a minimum wage for farm workers, but she said lawmakers made changes to the bill and she couldn’t go along with it.

The bill that was vetoed would have set the wage for farm workers at $14.15 per hour.

In Westbrook, Smiling Hill Farm co-owner Michael Knight said the bill that was vetoed is a regional issue.

Knight said farms in southern Maine could never get away with hiring someone and paying just the minimum wage. He said he has to offer wages to his more than 40 employees who are competitive in this market.

“I’m competing against Starbucks. I’m competing against Dunkin Donuts,” Knight said.

“Those people are upwards of $17 to $18 an hour, and that’s where I have to be in order to employ people here on the farm. Whether they are milking cows, or bailing hay, or making ice cream or bottling milk, it’s where it has to be, so really this area doesn’t mean anything,” Knight said.

Mills said she strongly supports a minimum wage for farmworkers, but said lawmakers made too many changes to her original proposal, including allowing farmers to face private lawsuits for labor violations instead of leaving it to the Department of Labor.

Knight said the bill that was vetoed would have had an impact mostly on farms in Downeast Maine and farms in northern counties.

Wednesday at the bi-weekly Farmers’ Market in Portland’s Deering Oaks Park, farmers weighed in on the issue.

Jan Goranson of Goranson’s Farm in Dresden said they have about 15 employees on her farm. The farm is in mid-coast Maine. She said they, too, offer salaries above minimum wage so they can attract good employees.

“I think it’s a disappointment that it was vetoed. There are some farmers that complain they can’t find any workers, but if you can’t offer a worker a decent wage, then, in fact, you are not going to find workers to work on your farm,” Goranson said.

At Smiling Hill Farm, Knight said he is in a much better position than his farmer friends in other parts of the state, who can pay high school kids to harvest for a few hours here and there.

Knight said that if those farm owners had to pay $14 to $15 an hour, that would have a very real negative impact on their bottom line.

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