Federal Labor Department begins outreach, enforcement drive to Oklahoma watermelon growers

Source: Tulsa World

By PAUL MONIES

The federal Labor Department is targeting Oklahoma watermelon growers in an outreach and enforcement effort to protect farm workers.

The focus on watermelon growers is the first in a multiyear agriculture education and enforcement initiative, the department's Wage and Hour Division said.

The agency started with watermelon growers because it is a labor-intensive crop, said Natalie Collins, assistant district director for the division's Oklahoma office. Watermelon growers generate about $6 million in sales annually in the state. Depending on the weather, most of the watermelon harvest happens in June, July or August, she said.

"The harvest involves a large number of workers out in the field," Collins said. "A lot of them are migrant or seasonal workers under very hot conditions, so field sanitation is important."

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Workers cut melons from their vines in a field owned by grower Darin Horton for the annual watermelon festival in Rush Springs. State lawmakers proposed a bill that would demote the watermelon from its status as the official state vegetable. JIM BECKEL/The Oklahoman

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