DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-95,229

STARMARK CABINETRY
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM PROFORCE SERVICES
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

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 27, 2019 by a state workforce office on
behalf of workers of StarMark Cabinetry, Sioux Falls, South
Dakota ("StarMark Cabinetry"). Starmark Cabinetry is a brand
of Norcraft Companies LP. Norcraft Companies LP is part of the
MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc. family. MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc.
(MBCI) is a subsidiary of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.
The subject worker group includes on-site leased workers from
ProForce Services.
The workers' firm is engaged in activities related to the
production of premium cabinetry.
The petitioner alleged, "According to Starmark a
subsidiary of MasterBrands Cabinetry/Norcraft, there was a
reduction in force. Starmark laid off employees and
MasterBrands has a plant in Canada and they are still hiring
full time positions according to their website."
During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the workers' firm, the petitioner, and the major
declining customer(s) of the workers' firm.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that that StarMark Cabinetry, did not
increase imports of premium cabinetry or articles like or
directly competitive. The workers' firm did not report imports
of premium cabinetry or articles like or directly competitive
in 2017, 2018, or during the period of January through August
2019. A survey was conducted of the major declining
customer(s) of the workers' firm regarding purchases of
premium cabinetry. The surveys revealed no increased imports
of premium cabinetry or articles like or directly competitive
with the premium cabinetry during the aforementioned periods.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the firm did not shift the
production of premium cabinetry or like or directly competitive
articles to a foreign country or acquire premium cabinetry or
like or directly competitive articles from a foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that StarMark Cabinetry 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 Starmark Cabinetry 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, although the workers' firm has been publicly
identified by name by the International Trade Commission (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, the group eligibility
requirements under Section 222(e) of the Act have not been
satisfied because Criterion (2) has not been met. The petition
was not filed during the 1-year period after April 17, 2020,
which is the date on which the International Trade Commission's
determination was published in the Federal Register. The
petition was filed prior to this date.




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 StarMark Cabinetry,
including on-site leased workers from ProForce Services, Sioux
Falls, South Dakota engaged in activities related to the
production of premium cabinetry to apply for adjustment
assistance, in accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C.
§ 2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C. this 24th day of June 2020.

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