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Negotiators from the United Steelworkers and Shell, the lead bargainer for unionized oil refining businesses, reached agreement on a new national contract on Thursday. It was a first big step towards ending the nation’s largest oil refining industry strike since 1980.
The unfair labor practice strike started at nine oil and chemical facilities on February 1, when the union accused the companies of bad faith bargaining over key issues in the new contract that was under negotiation, primarily health and safety and related issues, such as contracting out maintenance work. Later six more facilities joined the strike. Later workers at six more facilities joined in the walkout, for a total of more than 6,550 on strike.
Whether or not workers have been on strike there, each local union now needs to negotiate a contract that incorporates the national agreement and resolves local issues before the dispute—affecting about 30,000 workers at more than 100 refineries and related facilities, who account for 64 percent of the industry—is ended.
After 6-Week Strike, Oil Workers Say They Have “Won Vast Improvements in Safety and Staffing” - Working In These Times
Yesterday afternoon, the United Steelworkers reached a tentative contract agreement with negotiators from Shell Oil Co., which has represented Chevron, ExxonMobil and other oil companies affected by the union’s now nearly six-week strike. Even as the strike continues in many workplaces, yesterday’s victory is the hard-won result of careful organizing and some promising collaboration.
Beginning on February 1 — after a particularly contentious round of negotiations — an estimated 3,800 workers kicked off a strike action across nine refineries in Texas, California, Kentucky and Washington. As of Thursday’s truce, the strike had grown to include 7,000 workers across 15 refineries, petrochemical and cogeneration plants, including the nation’s largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. In total, the United Steelworkers, or USW, represents 30,000 members, and holds leverage over an impressive 64 percent of the United States’ refining capacity.
Striking Oil Workers Emerge Victorious Thanks in Part to Green Group Solidarity | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
The unfair labor practice strike started at nine oil and chemical facilities on February 1, when the union accused the companies of bad faith bargaining over key issues in the new contract that was under negotiation, primarily health and safety and related issues, such as contracting out maintenance work. Later six more facilities joined the strike. Later workers at six more facilities joined in the walkout, for a total of more than 6,550 on strike.
Whether or not workers have been on strike there, each local union now needs to negotiate a contract that incorporates the national agreement and resolves local issues before the dispute—affecting about 30,000 workers at more than 100 refineries and related facilities, who account for 64 percent of the industry—is ended.
After 6-Week Strike, Oil Workers Say They Have “Won Vast Improvements in Safety and Staffing” - Working In These Times
Yesterday afternoon, the United Steelworkers reached a tentative contract agreement with negotiators from Shell Oil Co., which has represented Chevron, ExxonMobil and other oil companies affected by the union’s now nearly six-week strike. Even as the strike continues in many workplaces, yesterday’s victory is the hard-won result of careful organizing and some promising collaboration.
Beginning on February 1 — after a particularly contentious round of negotiations — an estimated 3,800 workers kicked off a strike action across nine refineries in Texas, California, Kentucky and Washington. As of Thursday’s truce, the strike had grown to include 7,000 workers across 15 refineries, petrochemical and cogeneration plants, including the nation’s largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. In total, the United Steelworkers, or USW, represents 30,000 members, and holds leverage over an impressive 64 percent of the United States’ refining capacity.
Striking Oil Workers Emerge Victorious Thanks in Part to Green Group Solidarity | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
