[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67775-67776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27762]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[TA-W-74,116]


Washington Department of Transportation, Olympic Division, 
Aberdeen Maintenance Office, Chehalis Drawbridge Tenders, Aberdeen, WA; 
Notice of Negative Determination Regarding Application for 
Reconsideration

    By application dated July 9, 2010, the Washington State Labor 
Council, AFL-CIO, requested administrative reconsideration of the 
negative determination regarding workers'

[[Page 67776]]

eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) applicable 
to workers and former workers of the subject public agency. The 
determination was issued on June 17, 2010, and the Notice of 
Determination was published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2010 (75 
FR 38142).
    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 mis-
interpretation of facts or of the law justified reconsideration of the 
decision.
    The negative determination of the TAA petition filed on behalf of 
workers at Washington Department of Transportation, Olympic Division, 
Aberdeen Maintenance Office, Chehalis Drawbridge Tenders, Aberdeen, 
Washington, was based on the finding that the public agency (the 
Chehalis Drawbridge) that is the subject of this case did not acquire 
services like or directly competitive to drawbridge operation and 
maintenance services from a foreign country.
    In the request for reconsideration the petitioning union official 
stated that the workers of the subject firm should be eligible for TAA 
because the initial decision was based on a misinterpretation of the 
new language for certification of public entities. The petitioner 
alleged that the bridge tenders lost their jobs due to the closure of 
several upstream facilities (notably the Weyerhaeuser complex, for 
which there are several current certifications), and those plant 
closures lessened river traffic to the point that the bridge operated 
by the workers laid off by the subject agency could go unattended. The 
petitioner refers to the bridge and its tenders as a secondary supplier 
which he believes should qualify for benefits because of their 
relationship to the certified Weyerhaeuser facilities upriver from the 
bridge.
    The group eligibility requirements for workers of a Public Agency 
can only be satisfied if the criteria as depicted in the initial 
decision are met.
    The petitioner did not supply facts not previously considered; nor 
provide additional documentation indicating that there was either (1) a 
mistake in the determination of facts not previously considered or (2) 
a misinterpretation of facts or of the law justifying reconsideration 
of the initial determination.
    After careful review of the request for reconsideration, the 
Department determines that 29 CFR 90.18(c) has not been met.

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 in Washington, DC, this 8th day of October, 2010.
Elliott S. Kushner,
Certifying Officer, Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. 2010-27762 Filed 11-2-10; 8:45 am]
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