Watch a video of Enrique Marquez Banda talking about his workEnrique Marquez Banda, a cowboy from Mexico, said the $800 a month he earns isn't much by his country's standards either, but it's hard to find work down there. Marquez herds some 600 sheep as part of the Missoula Parks and Recreation Department's noxious weed control program.
The seasonal shepherd wants more money, but it looks like he'll have to wait. Mayor John Engen said he doesn't understand the economics of sheepherding, but he's happy to look at the issue for next year.
Other city officials say the contract is with rancher John Stahl, and not with Marquez. And Stahl, who does understand the economics of sheepherding, says the business is more complex than people know. At the same time, he agreed Marquez wasn't raking it in.
“By the United States' standard, it's not very much,” Stahl said.
Minimum wage in July went to $6.35 an hour, said city Human Resources director Gail Verlanic. She can't say for sure how many people are on subcontracts because they don't all land on the HR desk.
The lowest paid city job is a clerk, with a starting salary of $19,996 a year, she said. That's roughly $9.61 an hour. The top-paid job is chief administrative officer, which starts at $84,940.
Here, even interns and work-study students make more than Marquez. Verlanic said they usually earn $7 to $10 an hour.
City Attorney Jim Nugent said the less-than-minimum wage looks legal, too. That's because the Montana Legislature makes many exceptions for farming and ranching jobs.
Marquez also gets room and board, and Stahl said the U.S. Department of Labor monitors the hire. He said the herder receives a $200 food stipend, and he doesn't spend that much on food and also sends money back home.
Stahl pays $300 a month in workers' compensation and wishes he could pay that money directly to Marquez, but he can't.
Regardless, that line of work isn't generally lucrative. Most herders make $750 a month plus room and board, Stahl said.
“To be honest with you, he's getting paid more than the average herder,” Stahl said.
Because he works long days seven days a week, the rancher said he tries to get Marquez off the mountain at least once a month for some rest. They go to the rodeo, and maybe they'll head up to to Flathead Lake soon.
“I understand that herding those sheep up there is like watching a bunch of 2-year-olds, and he needs a break every once in a while,” Stahl said.
At the same time, fuel prices, the economy, coyotes and last year's drought have been putting the hurt on the business of sheep. Stahl said he just held a family meeting about what to do with the ranch. The consensus was to “shut her down,” though he said he'll make the final call. If commodity prices don't rise to match the hike in fuel costs, business won't be great.
“It has nothing to do with is it the right thing to do for the human. It's the economic forces that we're working with. There's a lot more going on behind the scenes than the average Missoulian understands,” Stahl said.
On the mountain, the job isn't easy and Marquez said he's asked for more money. He said he knows some peers in the same line of work make $1,000 a month - plus room and board. Marquez said he also doesn't have health insurance in the U.S. And some herders don't work alone, as he does.
One of his biggest concerns is the mountain is dangerous for lambs, he said. A mama coyote is feeding her pups lamb, and coyotes have been killing one lamb a day. He isn't supposed to have a rifle up there, though, and his hands are tied.
“Yo no puedo hacer nada,” Marquez said. “I can't do anything.”
Marquez said he works each day at 7 a.m. and doesn't rest until late, 9 p.m. Even if he were working a 12-hour day for 29 days, he'd be earning $2.30 an hour.
“Yo no tengo descanso,” Marquez said. “I don't have rest.”
While the money isn't much, he keeps coming back because jobs are hard to come by back home. But the natural and economic forces putting the hurt on Stahl are stretching Marquez in Mexico, too. He keeps a small herd of cows, but the land is dry and his brother tells him the cows need more food.
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