DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-95,218

WHITESELL PACKING

INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM

ONIN STAFFING AND SNELLING STAFFING

MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA

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 September 25, 2019 by a state workforce official on behalf of
workers and former workers of Whitesell Packing, including on-site
leased workers from Onin Staffing and Snelling Staffing, Muscle
Shoals, Alabama (Whitesell-Muscle Shoals). Workers of Whitesell-
Muscle Shoals were engaged in the production of custom-order
kits/assemblies of industrial fasteners.

The petition alleges that worker separations are due to
outsourcing and/or loss of customer business.

During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petition, the workers' firm, and the firm's
major declining customer(s).

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed no increased imports of articles like or
directly competitive with the industrial fastener kits/assemblies
produced by Whitesell-Muscle Shoals during the relevant period when
compared to the representative base period.

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the workers' firm did not shift the
production of industrial fastener kits/assemblies, or like or
directly competitive articles, to a foreign country or acquire the
production of industrial fastener kits/assemblies, or like or
directly competitive articles, from a foreign country.

With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Whitesell-Muscle Shoals 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 Whitesell-Muscle Shoals 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).

With respect to Section 222(e) of the Act, the investigation
revealed that 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 Whitesell Packing, including on-site leased
workers from Onin Staffing and Snelling Staffing, Muscle Shoals,
Alabama, to apply for adjustment assistance, in accordance with
Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 12th day of February, 2021


/s/ Del-Min Amy Chen
_______________________
DEL-MIN AMY CHEN

Certifying Officer, Office of

Trade Adjustment Assistance