Protesters gather outside Farmers State Bank

Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 9, 2006

By Joseph Marks, staff writer

Former employees of Nielsen’s Conoco on South Broadway Avenue protested Friday near Farmers State Bank on West Main Street, charging that the bank misled them about the future of their jobs when a new owner took over the gas station June 30.

The former employees also protested last Sunday in front of Nielsen’s Conoco from 1 to 5 p.m. Both times they were joined by friends, customers and their families and carried signs that read, &8220;We were promised jobs and they lied to us,&8221; and &8220;Conoco girls never got to say good-bye.&8221;

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&8220;I think it’s dirty, very dirty,&8221; Jenni Johnson said during Friday’s protest. Johnson said she lives on Pearl Street and was a regular customer at the gas station.

Ajay Uppal, who said he is a manager with Princeton Town Mart based in Minneapolis, purchased Nielsen’s Conoco station June 30 and leased it that same day to Victor Patel, who recently moved to Albert Lea from Milwaukee, Wis. Patel said he plans to operate the station with his brother-in-law and their wives.

Karen Boss, former manager of the Conoco station, said Uppal told her several times that all employees at the gas station would keep their jobs under the new ownership, at least until after a three-month evaluation.

Boss said the former employees were not protesting because they wanted their jobs back but because they feel they were misled about their jobs and treated unfairly.

Uppal said Wednesday he never promised the employees they would keep their jobs and told them that decision would be made by the people who leased the store from him.

Patel said he always intended to run the store with only his family members and no other employees. He said he did not mislead the employees about his intentions.

Farmers State Bank President Nancy Skophammer said she was puzzled by the former employees’ decision to protest in front of the bank. The financial institution was only involved in the loan.

&8220;We do not own the station,&8221; she said. &8220;We do not have any say on who is hired and who is fired.&8221;