The sheep industry in Colorado girded for “a storm” after the Labor Department proposed tripling the minimum pay for the sheepherders who spent weeks at a time on the range, say KUNC-FM and Rocky Mountain PBS. The herders, who are mostly South Americans working under H2-A visas, are paid a minimum of $750 a month in Colorado, a rate set by the government and mostly unchanged for 20 years. The Labor Department has proposed raising it to $2,441 by 2020. The industry has suggested a level of around $1,400. “The fear is wages any higher would up-end generations-old family businesses, flooding the market with unwanted animals and sending ripples through rural economies,” say the public broadcasters.
Pay for many agricultural workers is higher than the wages for herding sheep, says Rocky Mountain PBS, and the work day is long when tending sheep. On top of salaries, ranchers are obliged to provide housing, food and transportation for the herders. The Labor Department plans to release its final rule in November.