DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-40,815

BERNHARDT FURNITURE COMPANY
PLANTS 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11
LENOIR, NORTH CAROLINA

TA-W-40,815A
BERNHARDT FURNITURE COMPANY
PLANT 9
SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA

TA-W-40,815B
BERNHARDT FURNITURE COMPANY
PLANT 14
CHERRYVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Certification 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.
In order to make an affirmative determination and issue a
certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance
each of the group eligibility requirements of Section 222 of the
Act must be met. It is determined in this case that all of the
requirements have been met.
The investigation was initiated on February 11, 2002, in
response to a petition filed by a company official on behalf of
workers at Bernhardt Furniture Company in Lenoir, Shelby and
Cherryville, North Carolina. The workers at all the plants are
engaged in employment related to the production of home and
office furniture.
This investigation revealed that corporate-wide sales,
production and employment decreased from 2000 to 2001.
The Department of Labor surveyed the major customers of the
subject firm regarding their purchases of home and office
furniture during the 2000-2001 time periods. The survey revealed
increased purchases of home and office furniture from foreign
sources.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I conclude that increases of imports of articles
like or directly competitive with those produced by Bernhardt
Furniture Company in Lenoir, Shelby and Cherryville, North
Carolina, contributed importantly to the decline in sales or
production and to the total or partial separation of workers of
that firm. In accordance with the provisions of the Trade Act,
I make the following certification:



"All workers at Bernhardt Furniture Company, Plants 1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, Lenoir, North Carolina, Bernhardt
Furniture Company, Plant 9, Shelby, North Carolina, and
Bernhardt Furniture Company, Plant 14, Cherryville, North
Carolina, who became totally or partially separated from
employment on or after January 17, 2001, through two years
from the date of certification, are eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of
1974."
Signed in Washington, D. C. this 25th day of September, 2002

/s/ Linda G. Poole

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