ST.

Thursday, February 28, 2002

ST. PAUL – Farmland employee Mike Lee has been trying to help his co-workers find work for months, but with jobs scarce, the situation is getting worse.

&uot;I’ve got 200 people I’m trying to work with, and we’re retraining them, but unemployment for a lot of them ran out at the end of January,&uot; Lee told a House committee Wednesday.

Men have told him they fear losing their houses, and some have already lost their cars, he said. Those who have vehicles have been hard pressed to pay for repairs, and some have had to get help from Community Action to keep their cars running.

Even if they have cars to help them look for jobs, it’s slim pickings for employment, Lee said.

&uot;There just ain’t no jobs out in the community,&uot; he said.

Lee and two other local Farmland representatives traveled to the Capitol to testify about a bill that would extend unemployment benefits for Farmland workers to 95 weeks after the fire. The workers would only be able to receive 26 weeks’ worth of extra unemployment during that time, in addition to the 26 weeks they already can receive. The workers must be enrolled in worker training programs to be eligible. The plan would cost the state $1.2 million.

A precedent was set by similar action to help former employees of the bankrupt LTV steel mining company on the Iron Range last year, as well as other bills over the last decade, said Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, the bill’s sponsor.

Dorman told the committee that workers still looking for jobs are either still waiting for Farmland to rebuild, have trouble finding new employment because of their age or lack of training, or simply want to stay in Albert Lea.

&uot;They think Albert Lea is a good place to live and work and raise a family,&uot; Dorman said. &uot;A lot of these people are very long-term employees.&uot;

At least one member of the committee didn’t seem convinced.

&uot;We’ve got a (budget) shortfall we’re trying to address,&uot; said Rep. Arlon Linder, R-Corcoran. &uot;Where is this going to stop? Why don’t we just have one bill to get everybody who’s been laid off some help?&uot;

Jobs are available elsewhere in the state, Linder pointed out. He suggested that workers could move to the Twin Cities area or commute to jobs there.

But Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, said it’s important for Albert Lea to keep the workers in the area in case Farmland reopens.

&uot;If those 200 people who know how to run a meatpacking plant leave, who’s going to run the plant if Farmland rebuilds?&uot; he said.

He also said a rural area like Albert Lea has a special need.

&uot;If a plant like this would burn down in the Twin Cities … these people would be absorbed into the job market,&uot; Davids said.

Davids said that although Freeborn County has been hardest hit by the Farmland fire, neighboring counties, including his own, have also felt the effects.

&uot;This was a devastating blow for Albert Lea, Freeborn County and the surrounding counties,&uot; he said.

Rep. Bob Gunther, R-Fairmont, said keeping workers in the area to allow Farmland to reopen is important because the region is short on pork processing capacity. He said he’s seen it first-hand because his county produces the most hogs in the state.

Several committee members said they would vote for the bill; only Linder raised serious objections. But partly because the committee’s chairman was out of town, the group did not take decisive action on the proposal. Instead, they tabled it and promised to consider it for inclusion in the omnibus Jobs and Economic Development bill.

Bill Avery, a union representative with the United Food and Commercial Workers, said workers have hope that Farmland will rebuild, and that construction of the new plant may even create some job opportunities for them.

&uot;In the meantime, these folks need some help,&uot; he said.