DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-39,935

CONTRACT APPAREL, INC.
El PASO, TEXAS

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility
To Apply For Worker Adjustment Assistance
In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2273) as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (P. L. 100-418), the Department of Labor herein presents the results of an investigation regarding certification of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
The investigation was initiated in response to a petition received on September 4, 2001, and filed by workers on behalf of all workers at Contract Apparel, Inc., El Paso, Texas. The workers are engaged in employment related to warehousing, packing and distribution of garments produced in Mexico.
The investigation revealed that the workers of Contract Apparel, Inc., El Paso, Texas, do not produce an article within the meaning of Section 222(3) of the Act. The Department of Labor has consistently determined that the performance of services does not constitute production of an article, as required by Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, and this determination has been upheld in the U. S. Court of Appeals.
Workers of the subject firm may be certified only if their separation was caused importantly by a reduced demand for their services from a parent firm, a firm otherwise related to the subject firm by ownership, or a firm related by control. Additionally, the reduction in demand for services must originate at a production facility whose workers independently meet the statutory criteria for certification and the reduction must directly relate to the product impacted by imports. These conditions have not been met for workers at the subject firm.
Conclusion
After careful review, I determine that all workers of Contract Apparel, Inc., El Paso, Texas, are denied eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Signed in Washington, D. C. this 10th day of December, 2001.


/s/ Edward A. Tomchick
______________________________
EDWARD A. TOMCHICK
Director, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance