BRIEFLY : Laid-off Rath workers pledged aid to buy the firm.

An employee group trying to buy and reopen the bankrupt Rath Packing Co. has received more than enough pledges of financial support from laid-off workers, a spokesman for the group said. The group had asked for at least 700 pledges of $4,500 each from laid-off workers at the bankrupt meat-packing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, to be used as equity for a $30 million loan to reopen the plant, which closed last December, and 735 pledges were received by noon Friday. The group met this week with lenders and union officials to try to secure the loan and complete a new labor contract.