[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 170 (Thursday, August 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53031-53032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22327]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[TA-W-37,735 and NAFTA-3842]


International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Storage 
Technology Division, Disk Substrate Manufacturing, Rochester, 
Minnesota; Notice of Negative Determination Regarding Application for 
Reconsideration

    By application postmarked July 28, 2000, petitioners request 
administrative reconsideration of the Department's negative 
determination regarding eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment 
Assistance (TAA) petition number TA-W-37,735 and North American Free 
Trade Agreement-Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) petition 
number NAFTA-3842, applicable to workers and former workers of 
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Storage Technology 
Division, Disk Substrate Manufacturing, Rochester, Minnesota. The 
denial notices were signed on June 29, 2000, and published in the 
Federal Register on July 24, 2000, TA-W-37,735 (65 FR 45620) and NAFTA-
3842 (65 FR 45621).
    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 report that IBM lost a contract to build disk 
drives for EMC; the contract was awarded to an overseas company. IBM 
then decided to use glass disks in their computers. The Rochester glass 
plant now supplies 10% of the glass disks in IBM computers and disk 
drives, with the remainder being sourced from abroad. The petitioners 
add that they were informed the Rochester plant would never be a major 
supplier of these disks because the foreign competition was much 
cheaper, and the plant was now for research purposes. The petitioners 
also state that it is doubtful that the subject firm is out of the 
aluminum business because IBM recently signed a major contract with 
Compaq to be able to use each other's storage devices. Compaq uses 
aluminum disks and imports them.
    The Department did not investigate the petitioners allegation of 
the subject firm's reliance on imports of disks because the Rochester, 
Minnesota, worker group produced disk substrates, which is a component 
for IBM's further production of storage disks at other locations. The 
Department is required to examine the impact of imports of articles 
like or directly competitive with those produced by the workers' firm.
    The workers were denied eligibility to apply for TAA based on the 
finding that the contributed importantly criterion of the worker group 
eligibility requirements of Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended, was not met. Layoffs of workers producing disk substrates was 
attributable to the change in technology. Fewer workers are required to 
produce glass disk substrates than the aluminum magnesium material.
    The NAFTA-TAA petition investigation for the same worker group 
revealed that criteria (3) and (4) of paragraph (a)(1) of Section 250 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, were not met. The subject firm 
did not import from Mexico or Canada, articles like or directly 
competitive with the disk substrates produced by the workers of the 
firm. There was no shift in production from the Warrensburg plant to 
Mexico or Canada. The major contributing factor to the reduction in 
employment at the Rochester, Minnesota plant was a change in 
technology. The IBM Rochester plant is using glass for manufacturing 
disk substrates which requires fewer workers than aluminum magnesium 
material.

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.


[[Page 53032]]


    Signed at Washington, D.C. this 18th day of August 2000.
Grant D. Beale,
Program Manager, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. 00-22327 Filed 8-31-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M