By Simone Sebastian and L.M. Sixel
Houston Chronicle staff writers
The United Steelworkers Union reached a three-year deal Tuesday night with the nation’s refineries and chemical plants, hours before a midnight deadline that could have put 30,000 workers on strike and reduced U.S. fuel-making capacity.
The tentative agreement is subject to approval by the workers the union represents at 168 production, refining, marketing, transportation, pipeline and petrochemical facilities – including 4,600 workers in the Houston area.
The union did not disclose details of the agreement.
A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed reports that prior to the conclusion of the agreement, union negotiators had rejected a fourth offer that would have included a three-year contract with a 2 percent raise in the first year and 2.5 percent increases in each of the second and third years.
Another sticking point was process safety improvements the union wanted.
As the deadline approached Tuesday, union officials put three refineries on notice that workers could strike if they didn’t reach a deal by the deadline.
Strike warnings went to Valero Energy Corp.’s refinery in Port Arthur; BP’s in Whiting, Ind.; and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s in Billings, Mont.
Under labor agreements, the union must give a 24-hour notice before it intends to strike and offer to do a safe and orderly shutdown, said Lynne Hancock, spokeswoman for the United Steelworkers in Nashville, Tenn. The notice doesn’t necessarily mean a strike is imminent but it lets the company and union prepare for a walkout.
BP had said it would shut down the Whiting refinery if the workers went on strike; Valero said it would operate in Port Arthur using managers and nonunion employees. Exxon Mobil did not say whether it would halt operations or find replacement workers.
The United Steelworkers and Shell Oil Co., which represented the oil and chemical industry in negotiations, met in Austin to hammer out the deal.
The talks began Jan. 17. LyondellBasell, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Petroleum are among other companies that have refinery workers governed by the contract.
Union members work at 69 of the nation’s 140 operating refineries, with 64 percent of the U.S. refining capacity, the union said.
BP’s Indiana refinery can process up to 405,000 barrels of crude per day, about 2.5 percent of the nation’s total oil refining capacity.
Valero’s Port Arthur refinery, which employs about 820 workers, is the 13th-largest in the country, refining up to 300,000 barrels a day. Exxon Mobil’s Billings refinery has a daily capacity of 60,000 barrels.
Valero never has had a strike at one of its refineries, spokesman Bill Day said Tuesday.
Vicki Vaughn contributed to this report.
simone.sebastian@chron.com lm.sixel@chron.com
Maybe the union was smart enough to see that the public would not stand behind them if they were to strike.
The unions have always been advocates for the average American worker; we should be appreciative of their efforts that set us all up for a much more favorable worklife than we would have had otherwise. Union members fought and sometimes even died to promote workers and protect them from abusive conditions and practices in the workplace. The laws and agencies that provide these protections for all of us now were born of union influence. If you are paid a decent wage, have good benefits, and a safe work environment, you can thank the unions for getting us to this point. They may not have the clout they once had, and may not even be as vital as they once were for our benefit, but they are certainly not the evil entities that the right would have you believe.
It doesn’t matter. These refineries will be shuttered soon. See yesterday’s article about the EPA collecting fines dating back to the 70′s. Bye bye Port Arthur.
“The unions have always been advocates for the average American worker”
.
Not any more. Back before we had OSHA, EEOC, etc, sure they helped the average worker. Now they have morphed into a beauracracy that is all about senority and the number of jobs.
.
Joe has been at the plant punching the clock for 25 years. He does the bare minimum, has a horrible attitude and has never generated a single idea as to how to improve a process. Luther has been a the plant for 8 years. He’s one of the hardest workers, he has a great attitude and he’s come up with innovative ideas to increase production and safety. When a new higher paying position opens up that both men are qualified for, the union says that the job should belong to Joe.
.
I worked at a company with a union shop. I’ve been at the loading dock while the hotshot driver is waiting and the part, but since the person responsible for loading it hasn’t made it back from lunch (he was late). We had other people in the shop who were forklift certified; however, due to union rules, they were not allowed to load this part.
.
Have you ever gone to a trade show in New York and want to plug something in? Ever need that 20 pound box sitting against the wall carried 50 feet to your booth (and you volunteer to do it)?
.
The exposure I’ve personally had with unions illustrates they could care less about getting a job done or having the company succeed. It’s all about rules that keeps the job count as high as possible and seniority intact. The attitude is “I don’t care if the company goes under and everybody is out of work; we’re not going to lose that one job of painting that pipe to a machine that can do it for 10% of the cost 20 times faster. Screw progress and cost reduction. We allowed it once before and lost every one of our wooden car wheel jobs back in 1928.”