HOUSTON: A strike by US refinery workers appears set to widen late Saturday night to 11 plants as walkouts have been scheduled at BP Plc refineries in Indiana and Ohio, a BP spokesman said on Friday night, the sixth day of the strike.
Stoppages by hourly workers represented by the United Steelworkers union (USW) are scheduled to begin at 11:59 p.m. local time on Saturday at BP's Whiting, Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio, refineries. The Ohio refinery is a joint venture with Husky Energy.
Currently, about 4,000 USW-represented workers are on strike at nine plants in California, Kentucky and Texas, including seven refineries that account for 10 percent of US refining capacity. The strike is the biggest in the refinery sector since 1980.
Among other requests, the union is seeking a tighter policy to prevent workplace fatigue, which federal officials have tied to refinery accidents. The union is also seeking the assignment of work being given to non-union contractors to go to USW members.
A USW spokeswoman confirmed that notices of intent to strike had been given to the BP refineries in Indiana and Ohio. The Steelworkers represent hourly workers at 63 US refineries.
BP spokesman Scott Dean said the two refineries were operating normally on Friday and the company planned a safe transition between union workers and temporary replacement workers.
"Presently, both refineries are operating normally and we will remain in regular communication with regulators and other officials as long as this strike continues," Dean said.
BP's 413,500 barrel per day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery supplies the Chicago market and changes in its operation can affect mid-continent wholesale gasoline prices.
The walkout at the 135,000 bpd Toledo refinery will begin one hour before workers leave their jobs at the Whiting plant because the Ohio refinery is in the eastern time zone.
With the two BP plants now planning walkouts, the percentage of national refining capacity at stake would be about 13 percent.
BP said it would remain at the bargaining table ready to talk to the USW about the issues between the two sides.
It was unclear how the strike might affect a shut gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic unit at the Toledo refinery, said sources familiar with plant operations. The unit went down on Jan. 27.
Representatives for Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and Valero Energy Corp said their USW-represented plants had not received strike notices as of Friday night.
Talks between the USW and Shell, which is the lead negotiator for US refinery owners, are in recess until next week while the union awaits fulfilment of an information request.
Union negotiators rejected the sixth contract offer on Thursday from Shell, saying there was "minimal movement."
The walkouts are in support of a nationwide pact that would cover 30,000 workers. Companies have called in trained non-union workers to keep plants running almost as normal.
The two camps have been in a stalemate since the USW called the first strikes Feb. 1, saying Shell had left the negotiating table when talks broke down on Saturday. Picket lines went up a plants owned by Shell, Lyondell Basell, Marathon and Tesoro Corp shortly after midnight on Sunday.
Negotiations have been tougher than in years past. A drop of more than 50 percent in oil prices since June has eroded profits at major oil companies, prompting executives to say they cannot afford to lift wages for workers.
The USW may order further walkouts at some of the other refineries and chemical plants it represents if there is no progress in the talks, the union has said.
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