For Larry Rygh, a displaced Farmland employee who worked at the plant for 28 years, Farmland’s announcement it plans to come back to Albert Lea last week was a great relief.

Monday, April 08, 2002

For Larry Rygh, a displaced Farmland employee who worked at the plant for 28 years, Farmland’s announcement it plans to come back to Albert Lea last week was a great relief.

&uot;There is no job for me here, even at a fast-food restaurant,&uot; he deplored.

Since the fire last July, Rygh has contacted more than 20 employers, all of whom either refused to hire him or did not even reply at all.

Rygh is one of 200 ex-Farmland workers who are still unemployed. Many of them are relatively old and would have difficulty relocating for a new job in other cities. Their lives depend on recovering their employment at the meatpacking plant they are familiar with.

Moving was not an option for Rygh.

He lives with five children, three of whom are in school. A mortgage for the house he purchased in 1982 still remains. All of his wife’s relatives are in town.

Rygh’s life is still full of uncertainty, despite the company’s announcement last week that it will rebuild in Albert Lea as long as economic incentives and an insurance settlement are finalized. Even if the company rebuilds, the plant won’t be done until late 2003.

Unemployment benefits dried up in January. Since last week, he started receiving a check from the federal government for a 13-week unemployment benefit extension. But it was absorbed by his mortgage payment. He is still two months behind on the utility payments.

&uot;I don’t know what will happen to my family from now to next fall. I cannot even afford to pay gas or fix my old van,&uot; he said.

Like many other displaced workers, Rygh is concerned about the working conditions in the new plant. Farmland offers a $10.55 base wage, while it was $10.69 in 1983 before Wilson and Co. filed for bankruptcy.

&uot;We kept losing our wage level,&uot; he said. &uot;The meatpacking plant used to be the highest-paid job in the city. The lower wage affects the pride we have.&uot;

Besides the wage, vacation and seniority issues, Rygh is anxious to know whether the company will respect the disability he has from an accident in the old plant.

Around 1995, Rygh hurt his back when he fell down on the floor in the locker room area of the plant. Since then, he has been unable to carry things over 30 pounds and work over his shoulders, he said.

Because of his condition, Farmland placed Rygh on assignment that does not require heavy physical work, he said. &uot;I hope they will respect the previous consideration, and give me the right job,&uot; he said.

&uot;I am proud of being a meatpacking worker. The plant was a major job place in the town for about 100 years,&uot; said Rygh. &uot;I miss handling a knife.&uot;