[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 13994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6380]



[[Page 13994]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[NAFTA-3554]


Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC, Bridgeport, IL; Notice of 
Negative Determination Regarding Application for Reconsideration

    By applications dated December 22, 1999 and January 3, 2000 
Petitioners requested administrative reconsideration of the 
Department's negative determination regarding eligibility for workers 
of the subject firm to apply for North American Free Trade Agreement--
Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA--TAA). The denial notice 
applicable to workers of Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC, transporting 
crude oil and petroleum products via pipeline in Bridgeport, Illinois, 
was signed on December 2, 1999 and published in the Federal Register on 
December 28, 1999 (64 FR 72693).
    Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c) reconsideration may be granted under 
the following circumstances:
    (1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously considered 
that the determination complained of was erroneous;
    (2) if it appears that the determination complained of was based on 
a mistake in the determination of facts not previously considered; or
    (3) if in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a 
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justified reconsideration of 
the decision.
    The petitioners assert that the workers in Bridgeport were gaugers 
for the subject firm and tested the oil before it could be transported 
into the pipeline. The petitioners also assert that the crude oil 
acquisition department of Marathon Oil Company (the parent company of 
the subject firm) worked directly with and set the perimeters for the 
acceptance or rejection of the crude oil. The petitioner also states 
that layoffs at the subject firm were caused by a reduced demand for 
services by the parent company.
    The denial of NAFTA-TAA for workers of Marathon Ashland Pipe Line 
LLC, Bridgeport, Illinois, was based on the finding that the workers 
provided a service and did not produce an article within the meaning of 
Section 250(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The petition 
investigation revealed that the primary reason for the worker layoffs 
was attributable to the asset sale to another company.
    Service workers may be certified for NAFTA-TAA only if there is a 
reduced demand for their services from a parent firm, a firm otherwise 
related to the subject firm by ownership, or a firm related by control. 
There are no NAFTA-TAA certifications for Marathon Oil Company workers.

Conclusion

    After review of the application and investigative findings, I 
conclude that there has been no error or misinterpretation of the law 
or of the facts which would justify reconsideration of the Department 
of Labor's prior decision. Accordingly, the application is denied.

    Signed at Washington, D.C. this 16th day of February 2000.
Grant D. Beale,
Program Manager, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. 00-6380 Filed 3-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M