U.S. refinery workers to press for more pay as virus roils oil firms

[August 14, 2021]  By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.S. refinery and chemical plant
workers on Friday agreed to focus on pay and health insurance in
coming union contract talks, said people familiar with United
Steelworkers (USW) union deliberations, setting up a conflict
with refiners struggling to throw off losses from weak demand.

Proposals setting an agenda for pay increases, improved
health insurance and severance pay were adopted at the union's
national oil bargaining policy conference conducted online. The
national agenda must still be approved by local union members.

Three-quarters of the 30,000 oil and chemical plant workers
represented by the USW must approve the plan before it can be
used in negotiations that begin in January between the union and
Marathon Petroleum Corp, which is the lead negotiator for oil companies.

The current three-year agreement expires at 12:01 a.m. on
Feb. 1, 2022.

"We had a successful day," said one USW member, who declined
to be identified, after the end of the conference.

The talks with refinery and chemical plant owners will get
underway as the Delta variant of the coronavirus is threatening
to reduce petroleum demand more than a year after the initial
outbreak of the COVID-19 disease forced lockdowns and
work-from-home policies.

The pandemic cut gasoline consumption 13% last year, forcing
some refiners to shut production lines and take on new debt to
finance operations.

This will be the second round of negotiations since a
nationwide strike in 2015 saw 7,000 workers from 12 refineries
and three chemical plants join picket lines. It was the first
nationwide strike in 35 years.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Grant McCool)

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