DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-94,980

ERIE COKE CORPORATION
A SUBSIDIARY OF GARNER LLC
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM
SPRESTERS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES AND KIRCHNER LLC
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

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 three 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.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer." 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.

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 July 11, 2019 by the United Steelworkers, Local 3199-03
on behalf of workers of Erie Coke Corporation, a subsidiary of
Garner LLC, including on-site leased workers from Spresters
Industrial Services and Kirchner LLC, Erie, Pennsylvania
(hereby referred to as "Erie Coke Corporation").
The workers' firm is engaged in activities related to the
production of metallurgical foundry coke of four inches and
larger.
During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petitioner, the workers' firm, the major
declining customer(s) workers' firm.
The petitioner alleged, "The companies that used to buy
our coke directly, are no longer buying from us. We are also
threatened by closure due to environmental concerns."
Additionally, the petitioner supplied documentation citing
workers of SunCoke Technology & Development LLC, Franklin
Furnace, Ohio (TA-W-92,162) and ABC Coke, Tarrant, Alabama (TA-
W-93,458), engaged in similar production activities whom were
certified eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance as
evidence.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that imports of articles like or
directly competitive with the articles produced by Erie Coke
Corporation have not increased. Erie Coke Corporation reported
no imports of metallurgical foundry coke, or articles like or
directly competitive, in 2017, 2018, or during the period of
January through June 2019. Furthermore, a survey of their major
declining customer(s)' purchases of metallurgical foundry coke,
and articles like or directly competitive, revealed no imports
as well. United States production of coke, and like or directly
competitive articles, revealed increases during the
aforementioned period.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the firm did not shift the
production of metallurgical foundry coke, or like or directly
competitive articles to a foreign country or acquire
metallurgical foundry coke or like or directly competitive
articles from a foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Erie Coke Corporation is neither a
Supplier or 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). As it
pertains to SunCoke Technology & Development LLC, Franklin
Furnace, Ohio (TA-W-92,162), the determination was based upon
the workers of the firm qualifying as a secondary component
supplier, a criterion that workers of Erie Coke Corporation did
not meet.
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied 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. As it pertains to the
workers of ABC Coke, Tarrant, Alabama (TA-W-93,458), the
determination was based upon an ITC ruling on ammonium sulfate.
Erie Coke Corporation was not identified as a part of the
industry.
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 Erie Coke
Corporation, a subsidiary of Garner LLC, including on-site
leased workers from Spresters Industrial Services and Kirchner
LLC, Erie, Pennsylvania engaged in activities related to the
production of metallurgical foundry coke of four inches and
larger to apply for adjustment assistance, in accordance with
Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C. this 21st day of November 2019.

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