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 "The longer that this strike rolls on, the more people that will
be affected," said Gary Beevers, USW international vice president,
in a telephone interview on Monday.
Asked if a lack of progress in talks with lead oil company
negotiator Royal Dutch Shell Plc could result in strikes at more
plants, Beevers said: "There certainly will be."
About 5,200 workers from 11 plants, including nine refineries
accounting for 13 percent of U.S. capacity, were walking picket
lines after talks between the USW and Shell Oil Co failed to reach
an agreement on a new national contract.
Face-to-face negotiations between the two sides are scheduled to
resume on Wednesday, after being recessed for a week. Shell said it
needed the time to fulfill a union information request about the use
of contractors by refiners. The USW has said the company is also
considering a counterproposal from the union.
A Shell spokesman said the company look forward to resuming talks
this week to reach "a mutually satisfactory agreement."
 Beevers said staffing will have to discussed.
"We're going to talk about safe staffing one way or the other,"
Beevers said.
For the union, the use of non-union contractors and lack of an
industry-wide policy on preventing worker fatigue are key obstacles
to safe staffing.
"On a day-to-day basis they are attriting the qualified USW people
and hiring people who aren't qualified," he said. "There is no
fatigue policy across the industry."
A Shell spokesman said the company was committed to safe operations.
"For Shell, safety - of all employees, our communities and our
operations - is always a top priority," spokesman Ray Fisher said.
"Our need to be flexible in staffing our operations according to our
business needs does not conflict with our commitment to safety."
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In the 2012 contract negotiations, the USW and oil companies agreed
to adopt an American Petroleum Institute recommended practice that
sets limits on how long a person can work without having a day off.
Not all refineries have adopted the policy.
Worker fatigue was found to be involved in the 2005 explosion at a
Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 workers.
The USW wants to limit the number of contractors performing
day-to-day maintenance on refinery units.
Beevers said meetings with Shell have been sporadic and talks brief.
"Progress would be meeting on a regular basis and having a dialogue
on the contract issues," he said. "We're willing to meet 24-7. We
came to the table looking for a contract, not a fight. They chose to
fight."
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Terry Wade, Steve Orlofsky, Tom
Brown and Eric Walsh)
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