DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-52,769

AMERICAN FIBER AND FINISHING, INC.
NEWBERRY, COUTH CAROLINA

Certification Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance and
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC
2273), as amended, the Department of Labor herein presents the
results of an investigation regarding certification of eligibility
to apply for worker adjustment assistance as a secondarily affected
worker group.
In order to make an affirmative determination and issue a
certification of eligibility for secondary workers to apply for
Trade Adjustment Assistance, the group eligibility requirements of
paragraph (b) of Section 222 of the Trade Act, as amended, must be
met. It is determined in this case that the requirements of (b) of
Section 222, as amended, have been met.
The investigation was initiated on September 5, 2003 in
response to a petition filed by a company official on behalf of
workers at American Fiber and Finishing, Inc., Newberry, South
Carolina. The workers at the subject firm produce medical gauze
and cloths; they are not separately identifiable by product line.
The investigation revealed that American Fiber and Finishing,
Inc., Newberry, South Carolina supplies component parts for
advanced wound care products, and at least 20 percent of its
production or sales is supplied to a manufacturer whose workers
were certified eligible to apply for adjustment assistance.
In addition, in order for the Department to issue a
certification of eligibility to apply for ATAA, the group
eligibility requirements of Section 246 of the Trade Act must be
met. The Department has determined in this case that the
requirements of Section 246 have been met.
A significant number of workers at the firm are age 50 or over
and possess skills that are not easily transferable. Competitive
conditions within the industry are adverse.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that workers of American Fiber and
Finishing, Inc., Newberry, South Carolina qualify as adversely
affected secondary workers under Section 222 of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended. In accordance with the provisions of the Act, I
make the following certification:


"All workers of American Fiber and Finishing, Inc., Newberry,
South Carolina who became totally or partially separated from
employment on or after September 5, 2002, through two years
from the date of certification are eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of
1974, and are also eligible to apply for alternative trade
adjustment assistance under Section 246 of the Trade Act of
1974."
Signed at Washington, D.C., this 6th day of October, 2003.



/s/ Richard Church

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Richard Church
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance