DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-82,995

KING BROTHERS WOODWORKING, INC.
A SUBSIDIARY OF KING BROTHERS WOOD, LLC
UNION GAP, WASHINGTON

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended ("Act"), 19 U.S.C. § 2273, the Department of Labor
herein presents the results of an investigation regarding
certification of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment
assistance.
Workers of a firm may be eligible for worker adjustment
assistance if they satisfy the criteria of subsection (a), (b)
or (e) of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (b) and
(e). For the Department of Labor to issue a certification for
workers under Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a),
the following criteria must be met:
(1) The first criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2282(a)(1)) requires that a significant
number or proportion of the workers in the workers' firm
must have become totally or partially separated or be
threatened with total or partial separation.

(2) The second criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(2) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(2)) may be satisfied in one of two
ways:
(A) Increased Imports Path:
(i) sales or production, or both, at the workers' firm
must have decreased absolutely, AND
(ii) (I) imports of articles or services like or directly
competitive with articles or services produced or
supplied by the workers' firm have increased, OR
(II)(aa) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles into which the
component part produced by the workers' firm was
directly incorporated have increased; OR
(II)(bb) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles which are produced
directly using the services supplied by the
workers' firm have increased; OR
(III) imports of articles directly incorporating
component parts not produced in the U.S. that are
like or directly competitive with the article
into which the component part produced by the
workers' firm was directly incorporated have
increased.
(iii) the increase in imports described in clause (ii)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation
or threat of separation and to the decline in the
sales or production of such firm.

(B) Shift in Production or Supply Path:
(i)(I) there has been a shift by the workers' firm to a
foreign country in the production of articles or
supply of services like or directly competitive with
those produced/supplied by the workers' firm; OR
(II) there has been an acquisition from a foreign
country by the workers' firm of articles/services that
are like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; and
(ii) the shift described in clause (i)(I) or the
acquisition of articles or services described in
clause (i)(II) contributed importantly to such
workers' separation or threat of separation.

For the Department to issue a secondary worker
certification under Section 222(b) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. §
2272(b), to workers of a Supplier or a Downstream Producer, the
following criteria must be met:
(1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in
the workers' firm or an appropriate subdivision of the
firm have become totally or partially separated, or
are threatened to become totally or partially
separated;

(2) the workers' firm is a Supplier or Downstream Producer
to a firm that employed a group of workers who
received a certification of eligibility under Section
222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), and such
supply or production is related to the article or
service that was the basis for such certification; and

(3) either
(A) the workers' firm is a supplier and the component
parts it supplied to the firm described in paragraph
(2) accounted for at least 20 percent of the
production or sales of the workers' firm;
or
(B) a loss of business by the workers' firm with the
firm described in paragraph (2) contributed
importantly to the workers' separation or threat of
separation.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer."
Workers of a firm may also be considered eligible if they
are publicly identified by name by the International Trade
Commission (ITC) as a member of a domestic industry in an
investigation resulting in a category of determination that is
listed in Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e).
The group eligibility requirements for workers of a firm
under Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e), can be
satisfied if the following criteria are met:
(1) the workers' firm is publicly identified by name by
the International Trade Commission as a member of a
domestic industry in an investigation resulting in--
(A) an affirmative determination of serious injury or
threat thereof under section 202(b)(1);
(B) an affirmative determination of market disruption
or threat thereof under section 421(b)(1); or
(C) an affirmative final determination of material
injury or threat thereof under section
705(b)(1)(A) or 735(b)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b)(1)(A) and
1673d(b)(1)(A));

(2) the petition is filed during the 1-year period
beginning on the date on which--
(A) a summary of the report submitted to the
President by the International Trade Commission
under section 202(f)(1) with respect to the
affirmative determination described in paragraph
(1)(A) is published in the Federal Register under
section 202(f)(3); or
(B) notice of an affirmative determination described
in subparagraph (1) is published in the Federal
Register; and

(3) the workers have become totally or partially
separated from the workers' firm within--
(A) the 1-year period described in paragraph (2); or
(B) notwithstanding section 223(b)(1), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).

The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
filed on August 16, 2013 by the State of Washington on behalf
of workers of King Brothers Woodworking, Inc., a subsidiary of
King Brothers Wood, LLC, Union Gap, Washington. The workers'
firm is engaged in activities related to the production and
installation of custom-built work systems (such as bank teller
cages or nurses' work station) and storage systems (such as
banks of filing cabinets). The subject firm bid on contracts to
operate as subcontractors for general contractors to build
work systems and storage systems.
Most of the subject firm's custom-built systems are for
commercial spaces like banks, hospitals, community colleges
and universities, and for military and federal government
properties. Storage systems for residential use would be built
under a contract for a new housing complex or housing
community and not under a contract by a single homeowner;
residential contracts constituted a minority of subject firm
business. The systems are based on on-site measurements
conducted by the subject firm, are constructed off-site by the
subject firm, are delivered to the construction site by the
subject firm, then installed on-site by the subject firm
pursuant to the terms of the general contractor's agreement.
The petitioner alleged that the subject firm "has been
unable to compete with global competition."
During the course of the investigation, the Department
sought and received information from the petitioner (the State
of Washington), knowledgeable (former) company officials, the
subject firm's former legal counsel, third party sources, and
publically available sources.
The investigation revealed that the subject firm did not
have any repeat customers due to the nature of the industry;
that the subject firm ceased to operate in 2013; that subject
firm's physical assets (such as tools and building materials)
were sold at auction on September 12, 2013 with proceeds sent
to a bank; that all remaining subject firm assets were
transferred to the same bank in mid-January 2014; and that,
starting in 2012, the subject firm experienced increased
domestic competition for limited construction projects.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the subject firm did not, during
2012 or 2013, import articles like or directly competitive
with the custom-built work systems and/or storage systems
produced by the workers in 2012 or 2013. The Department did
not conduct a survey of the subject firm's major declining
customers due to the absence of any such customers.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the worker separations are not
attributable to either a shift by the subject firm in the
production of articles like or directly competitive with the
work systems and storage systems produced by the workers to a
foreign country, or the subject firm's acquisition of the
production of like or directly competitive articles from a
foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the subject firm is not a Supplier
or Downstream Producer to a firm that employed a group of
workers who received a certification of eligibility under
Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a).
With respect to Section 222(e) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the workers' firm has not been
publicly identified by name by the ITC as a member of a domestic
industry in an investigation resulting in an affirmative finding
of serious injury, market disruption, or material injury, or
threat thereof.
In addition, the investigation confirmed that worker
separations at the subject firm are due to increased domestic
competition for limited construction projects.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that the requirements of Section 222
of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272, have not been met and, therefore,
deny the petition for group eligibility of King Brothers
Woodworking, Inc., a subsidiary of King Brothers Wood, LLC,
Union Gap, Washington, to apply for adjustment assistance, in
accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C. this 28th day of March, 2014


/s/Del Min Amy Chen
______________________________
DEL MIN AMY CHEN
Certifying Officer, Office of
Trade Adjustment Assistance