DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-63,250

BERKLINE/BENCHCRAFT, LLC
WOODCRAFT - WOODWORKING PLANT
RIPLEY, MISSISSIPPI

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 April 25, 2008 in response
to a petition filed by a company official on behalf of workers of
Berkline/Benchcraft LLC, Woodcraft - Woodworking Plant, Ripley,
Mississippi. The workers produced plywood parts for furniture.


The investigation revealed that Berkline/Benchcraft LLC,
Woodcraft - Woodworking Plant, Ripley, Mississippi supplies
plywood parts for furniture, 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 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 Berkline/Benchcraft LLC,
Woodcraft - Woodworking Plant, Ripley, Mississippi 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 Berkline/Benchcraft LLC, Woodcraft -
Woodworking Plant, Ripley, Mississippi, who became totally or
partially separated from employment on or after April 22,
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 in Washington, D. C. this 6th day of June 2008


/s/Elliott S. Kushner
______________________________
ELLIOTT S. KUSHNER
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance