Mike Lee is one of 200 ex-Farmland workers still unemployed almost seven months after a fire shut down the plant.

Thursday, January 31, 2002

Mike Lee is one of 200 ex-Farmland workers still unemployed almost seven months after a fire shut down the plant. He thinks an extension of unemployment benefits being discussed in the state legislature would increase his prospects of getting a new job.

Lee, a father of four, was a proud veteran meatpacking worker since 1976, when the plant was operated by Wilson and Co. His job search efforts after the July 8 fire have been unsuccessful, and he has been forced to live on unemployment benefits.

&uot;We have been tightening up our belt,&uot; he said. &uot;But it is getting difficult for many.&uot;

This month Lee’s benefits dried up. Though his wife has started working full time, the income barely covers the family’s expenditures and is not enough to purchase insurance.

Lee’s plight is shared by 200 other former Farmland workers who have stayed in Albert Lea but have not found new jobs, according to research by the Minnesota Workforce Center. Lee, along with fellow displaced worker Brian Vairma, helped contact former employees to see how many were left.

The extended benefits bill, introduced by Sen. Grace Schwab, R-Albert Lea, to the Senate, and Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, to the House, aims to extend the benefits for 26 weeks. Former employees could apply for the benefits until January 2005.

Applicants would need to be enrolled in a qualified reemployment training program to receive the extended benefits.

&uot;The job market has been so tight since Sept. 11,&uot; Lee said. &uot;The extension will give us a chance to buy some time to wait for the economic recovery.&uot;

Vairma said he also hopes the legislation will be passed and implemented as soon as possible.

&uot;The requirement to be in the job training program is good, but the application period for school grants will be closed in June. So we need to know whether the extension is possible or not sooner,&uot; Vairma said.

The displaced workers program through the Workforce Center, according to Vairma, annually grants $4,500 in coverage for two years to pay for tuition and other related expenses. More than 177 Farmland employees applied for the program after the fire.

Vairma worries other massive cutbacks after the September attacks, such as layoffs at Northwest Airlines and the Fingerhut crisis, will diminish politicians’ interest in the Farmland issue. &uot;I wonder how many legislators still care about us in St. Paul,&uot; he said.

Whether the benefit extension will be available is a crucial factor for the Workforce Center when it is designing training programs.

It is also important for both the center and the unemployed workers to know if Farmland will come back when making any decision. The company’s move would also dictate the fate of the city’s application for tax increment financing to pay for cleanup of the old site – and the fate of the development plan overall.

Lee and Vairma said they are frustrated by Farmland’s unwillingness to talk. Workers say the company has not contacted them with updates on the situation, and Farmland has continually put off its decision on whether to rebuild. The company originally promised to make an announcement in October.

&uot;I would say that we’d better not count on anything from that company,&uot; Vairma said.