DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-57,033

BRANDON HOSIERY
FORT PAYNE, ALABAMA

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 in response to a petition
received on April 25, 2005 in response to a petition filed by the
Alabama Department of Industrial Relations on behalf of workers of
Brandon Hosiery, Fort Payne, Alabama. The workers produce (knit
and seam) greige socks.
The investigation revealed that Brandon Hosiery supplies
greige goods as a component for finished socks, and a loss of
business with a manufacturer of socks whose workers were
certified eligible to apply for adjustment assistance contributed
importantly to the separation or threat of separation of workers
at Brandon Hosiery, Fort Payne, Alabama.
United States imports of socks, measured in volume,
increased 46 percent in the first two months of 2005 compared
with the same period one year earlier.
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 Brandon Hosiery, Fort
Payne, Alabama 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 Brandon Hosiery, Fort Payne, Alabama who
became totally or partially separated from employment on or
after April 21, 2004, 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 20th day of May 2005.

/s/ Richard Church
__
RICHARD CHURCH
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance