DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-40,011

CLIFFS MINING SERVICES COMPANY
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
CLEVELAND-CLIFFS, INC.
HIBBING, MINNESOTA

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 eligi-bility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
The investigation was initiated on September 17, 2001 in response to a petition filed on behalf of workers at Cliffs Mining Services Company, Research and Development, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., Hibbing, Minnesota. The workers are engaged in activities related to taconite mining research.
The investigation revealed that the petitioners of Cliffs Mining Services Company, Research and Development, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., Hibbing, Minnesota 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 the workers at the subject firm.
Currently, there is a NAFTA-TAA petition pending for the workers at the subject company, NAFTA-5260.
Conclusion
After careful review, I determine that all workers of Cliffs Mining Services Company, Research and Development, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., Hibbing, Minnesota, are denied eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 17th day of October, 2001.

/s/ Linda G. Poole

______________________________
LINDA G. POOLE
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment