US refinery workers strike at nine sites

OREANDA-NEWS. February 02, 2015. Union workers at nine US refineries went on strike early this morning amid ongoing negotiations between the United Steelworkers Union and lead refining negotiator Shell.

Union workers went on strike at the 268,000 b/d Lyondell refinery in Houston, Texas; Marathon Petroleum's 475,000 b/d refinery in Texas City, Texas, and 240,000 b/d refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky; at Shell's 340,000 b/d joint venture refinery in Deer Park, Texas; and at Tesoro's 120,000 b/d Anacortes, Washington, refinery, its 260,000 b/d Carson, California, refinery and 168,000 b/d Martinez, California, refinery.

Workers at a Shell Deer Park chemical facility and a Marathon cogeneration facility are also on strike.

All other union workers continue to work under rolling 24-hour contract extensions.

"We remain committed to resolving our differences with USW at the negotiating table and hope to resume negotiations as early as possible to get our employees back to work," Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said.

National negotiations concentrate on wages, benefits and working conditions. Union negotiators said they objected to a shift toward contractors from union workers affecting operational safety, overtime and careers. A text message to union workers late yesterday called the fifth and most recent Shell proposal "insulting."

Refiners train management and bring in contractors to continue operating in the absence of union employees during a strike.