United Steel Workers Locked Out of British Petroleum Factory
The contract was due to expire on July 31st – ultimately, talks would begin in February, with British Petroleum seeking to cut 200 positions at their Whiting, Indiana refinery and introduce labor surveillance tools for AI training in an environment where the union had lost 300 positions to “independent contract workers.”
The United Steel Workers (USW) authorized to strike with a 98 percent vote after the company had turned down several offers.
USW, representing 30,000 workers, reached national agreements with all but four refineries. At the Whiting refinery, where the average worker makes 50 dollars per hour, management agreed to a 24-hour rolling extension of the previous contract. Local 7-1 held a rally outside the refinery gate after more than 3 weeks.
The company offered its best and final offer, which included an extended industrial peace clause, demanding a notification of 150 days before any industrial action from the union, a lumpsum one-time payment to all non-union workers of $7,500, and an introduction of a 10-hour work schedule.
The proposal was rejected by a 98.3 percent vote in early March. When the lockout finally began, Roxanne Brown, President of the United Steel Workers, stepped in and put the Union’s international behind the local.
The lockout has been going on since February of this year in Whiting, initiated in response to the USW refusing to sign a deal for staff reduction at British Petroleum’s largest refinery.
Be First to Comment