[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5073-5074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1103]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[TA-W-58,022]


Meadow River Hardwood Lumber Company; Formerly Known as Georgia-
Pacific Corp.; Rainelle, WV; Notice of Negative Determination Regarding 
Application for Reconsideration

    By application of December 8, 2005, Carpenters East Coast 
Industrial Council (CECIC) requested administrative reconsideration of 
the Department's negative determination regarding eligibility to apply 
for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), applicable to workers and former 
workers of the subject firm. The denial notice was signed on October 
24, 2005, and published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2005 
(70 FR 69599).
    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

[[Page 5074]]

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 petition for the workers of Meadow River Hardwood Lumber 
Company, f/k/a Georgia-Pacific Corp., Rainelle, West Virginia engaged 
in production of hardwood lumber was denied because the ``contributed 
importantly'' group eligibility requirement of Section 222 of the Trade 
Act of 1974, as amended, was not met, nor was there a shift in 
production from that firm to a foreign country. The investigation 
revealed that workers separations at the subject firm was attributed to 
an employee-strike and not increased imports or a shift in production 
to a foreign country.
    The petitioner stated that there was no stoppage of work due to a 
labor dispute, but rather the company was loosing its sales due to 
increased imports. The petitioner attached a list of customers and 
requested a customer survey be conducted in order to reveal the import 
impact.
    Upon further review of the previous investigation and further 
contact with the company official the Department conducted a full 
investigation to determine whether imports of hardwood lumber indeed 
impacted production at the subject firm and consequently caused workers 
separations.
    The investigation revealed that customers provided by the 
petitioner were former customers of Georgia-Pacific Corp., but were no 
longer customers of Meadow River Hardwood Lumber Company.
    The company official provided a list of major customers of the 
subject firm. The Department conducted a survey of these customers 
regarding their purchases of hardwood lumber during the relevant time 
period. The survey revealed that only one customer is importing 
hardwood lumber, however this customer did not decrease its purchases 
of hardwood lumber from the subject firm. Moreover, the subject firm 
does not import hardwood lumber and did not shift production of 
hardwood lumber abroad.

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, DC, this 24th day of January, 2006.
Elliott S. Kushner,
Certifying Officer, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. E6-1103 Filed 1-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P