DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-91,569

VIGO COAL OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
FRIENDSVILLE MINE
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM CUSTOM STAFFING
MOUNT CARMEL, ILLINOIS

Notice of Negative Determination
On Reconsideration

On November 25, 2016, the Department issued a Notice of
Affirmative Determination Regarding Application for
Reconsideration applicable to workers and former workers of Vigo
Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, including on-site
leased workers from Custom Staffing, Mount Carmel, Illinois (Vigo
Coal–Friendsville Mine). The worker group is engaged in activities
related to the production of bituminous coal.
The request for reconsideration was filed by a worker who was
a “coal miner from the Friendsville Mine . . . laid off from Vigo
Coal as a result of a drastic contract reduction . . . (customer)
terminated the mining operation contract it had with Vigo Coal for
the Friendsville Mine in Mt. Carmel, IL.” In the request for
reconsideration, the worker stated that “the laid off employees
from the Friendsville Mine should be eligible for TAA benefits as
we met the requirements as secondary workers under Section 222(b)
of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(b).”
29 CFR 900.18(a) states “Any worker . . . aggrieved by a
determination . . . may file an application for reconsideration of
the determination.” Although the request for reconsideration
states that the worker is appealing the determinations of “#91569,
#91569A, #91569B” the worker is aggrieved only by the
determination of TA-W-91,569. Consequently, the Department issued
an Affirmative Determination Regarding Application for
Reconsideration is applicable to Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC,
Friendsville Mine, Mount Carmel, Illinois (TA-W-91,569) only. The
Department’s Affirmative Determination Regarding Application for
Reconsideration did not include any reference to TA-W-91,569A and
TA-W-91,569B.
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.” A Supplier means “a firm that produces and
supplies directly to another firm component parts for articles, or
services, used in the production of articles or in the supply of
services, as the case may be, that were the basis for
certification of eligibility under subsection (a) of a group of
workers employed by such other firm.”
The Department recognized a distinction between articles that
are physically incorporated into the finished article and articles
that are used to produce the finished article (such as tools,
equipment, machinery, and power sources). Articles in the first
category may be considered to be component parts, whereas articles
in the second category are not component parts. The Department’s
Notice of Negative Determination on Remand in Former Employees of
Murray Engineering, Inc. vs. U.S. Secretary of Labor (TA-W-50,588;
issued February 28, 2005; USCIT 03-00219; affirmed) stated “The
Department interprets a component to be a physical part of an
article that helps the article to function. A design is helpful to
creating the machinery, but it is not incorporated into to the
machinery as a physical part and does not help the machinery to
function. A machine’s design is a wholly separate thing from both
the machine itself and the products made by the machine.”
Additional information obtained by the Department during the
reconsideration investigation revealed that the bituminous coal
produced by Vigo Coal–Friendsville Mine was used as a fuel source
for power generation by its customer and was not physically
incorporated into the article produced by its customer (molten
aluminum). Consequently, the Department determined that the
bituminous coal produced by Vigo Coal–Friendsville Mine is not a
component part, that Vigo Coal–Friendsville Mine does not meet the
definition of a Supplier, and that the petitioning worker group at
Vigo Coal–Friendsville Mine does not meet the requirements as
secondary workers under Section 222(b) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. §
2272(b).
Conclusion
After careful reconsideration, I affirm the original notice
of negative determination of eligibility to apply for worker
adjustment assistance for workers and former workers at Vigo Coal
Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, including on-site
leased workers from Custom Staffing, Mount Carmel, Illinois.
Signed in Washington, D.C., this 13th day of September, 2017

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






U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-91,569

VIGO COAL OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
FRIENDSVILLE MINE
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM CUSTOM STAFFING
MOUNT CARMEL, ILLINIOS


Notice of Affirmative Determination
Regarding Application for Reconsideration

By application dated October 5, 2016, a former worker of Vigo
Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, Mount Carmel,
Illinois, requested administrative reconsideration of the negative
determination regarding workers’ eligibility to apply for worker
adjustment assistance applicable to workers and former workers of
Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, including
on-site leased workers from Custom Staffing, Mount Carmel,
Illinois (subject firm). The workers’ firm is engaged in
activities related to the production of bituminous coal. The
Department’s determination was issued on September 27, 2016.
Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c) reconsideration may be granted
under the following circumstances:
(1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously
considered that the determination complained of
was erroneous;
(2) If it appears that the determination complained of
was based on a mistake in the determination of facts
not previously considered; or
(3) If in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justified
reconsideration of the decision.
The initial investigation resulted in a negative determination
based on the findings that imports of bituminous coal or articles
like or directly competitive with bituminous coal produced by
Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, Mount
Carmel, Illinois did not increase during the relevant period;
that neither the workers’ firm nor their customer(s) reported
increased imports of bituminous coal or articles like or directly
competitive to bituminous coal in 2014 or 2015; that the workers’
firm did not shift the production of bituminous coal, or a like or
directly competitive article, to a foreign country or acquire
production of bituminous coal, or a like or directly competitive
article, from a foreign country; and that Vigo Coal Operating,
LLC is neither a Supplier nor 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).
The worker’s request for reconsideration asserts that the
workers of Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine,
Mount Carmel, Illinois are secondarily-affected workers and
identifies a customer that employed a worker group eligible to
apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance and that terminated its
contract with the subject firm.
The Department of Labor has carefully reviewed the request for
reconsideration and the existing record, and has determined that
the Department will conduct further investigation to determine if
the workers at Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine,
including on-site leased workers from Custom Staffing, Mount
Carmel, Illinois (TA-W-91,569) meet the eligibility requirements of
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
Conclusion
After careful review of the application, I conclude that the
claim is of sufficient weight to justify reconsideration of the
U.S. Department of Labor's prior decision. The application is,
therefore, granted.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 25th day of November, 2016

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




DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-91,569

VIGO COAL OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
FRIENDSVILLE MINE
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM CUSTOM STAFFING
MOUNT CARMEL, ILLINIOS

TA-W-91,569A

VIGO COAL OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
LIBERTY MINE
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM CUSTOM STAFFING
BOONVILLE, INDIANA

TA-W-91,569B

VIGO COAL OPERATING COMPANY, LLC
VIGO CORPORATE OFFICE
EVANSVILLE, INDIANA

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. § 2272(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; AND
(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 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), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).

The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
filed on March 9, 2016 by a company official on behalf of
workers of Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine,
including on-site leased workers from Custom Staffing, Mount
Carmel, Illinois (TA-W-91,569); Vigo Coal Operating Company,
LLC, Liberty Mine, including on-site leased workers from
Custom Staffing, Boonville, Indiana (TA-W-91,569A), and Vigo
Coal Operating Company, LLC, Vigo Corporate Office,
Evansville, Indiana (TA-W-91,569B) (herein known as "Vigo Coal
Operating Company, LLC" or "workers' firm"). The workers' firm
is engaged in activities related to the production of bituminous
coal.
The petitioner alleges, "Increased imports of aluminum
from China other foreign countries has inundated the market
and is forcing closure of American smelters. Our firm
produces and ships coal to an American smelter (Alcoa Inc.)
that is closing."
During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petitioner/workers' firm and the workers'
firm major declining customer(s).
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that that imports of articles like or
directly competitive with articles produced by Vigo Coal
Operating Company, LLC did not increase. Nor the workers'
firm or their customer(s) reported imports of coal or articles
like or directly competitive in 2014 or 2015.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the firm did not shift the
production of bituminous coal or a like or directly competitive
article to a foreign country or acquire bituminous coal or a
like or directly competitive article from a foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Vigo Coal Operating, LLC is not a
Supplier 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(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Vigo Coal Operating, LLC does not
act as a 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).
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied either because
Criterion (1) has not been met since the workers' firm has not
been publicly identified by name by the International Trade
Commission 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.

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 Vigo Coal Operating
Company, LLC, Friendsville Mine, including on-site leased
workers from Custom Staffing, Mount Carmel, Illinois (TA-W-
91,569), Vigo Coal Operating Company, LLC, Liberty Mine,
including on-site leased workers from Custom Staffing,
Boonville, Indiana (TA-W-91,569A), and Vigo Coal Operating
Company, LLC, Vigo Corporate Office, Evansville, Indiana (TA-
W-91,569B) engaged in activities related to the production of
bituminous coal to apply for adjustment assistance, in
accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 27th day of September 2016.

/s/Hope D. Kinglock
______________________________
HOPE D. KINGLOCK
Certifying Officer, Office of
Trade Adjustment Assistance