DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-63,068

GOUVERNEUR TALC COMPANY
DIVISION OF R.T. VANDERBILT COMPANY INC.
GOUVERNEUR, NEW YORK

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 March 26, 2008 in response to a petition filed by the
USWA Local 4979 on behalf of workers of Gouverneur Talc Company, a
division of R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc. in Gouverneur, New York.
The workers produce talc.
The investigation revealed that Gouverneur Talc Company,
Gouvernor, New York supplies component parts for ceramic tile,
and a loss of business with a manufacturer of such products whose
workers were certified eligible to apply for adjustment
assistance contributed importantly to the separation or threat of
separation of workers at Gouverneur Talc Company.
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 Gouverneur Talc Company,
a division of R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc. in Gouverneur, New York
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 Gouverneur Talc Company, a division of R.T.
Vanderbilt Company, Inc. in Gouverneur, New York who became
totally or partially separated from employment on or after
March 24, 2007, 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 8th day of May 2008

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