Tag Archives: oil workers

Oil Worker Strike Expands

Oil workers at three more refineries and a chemical plant joined the United Steelworkers (USW) strike that began in February with around 3,800 members from nine refineries. According to the AFL-CIO’s Mike Hall, the total number of striking workers is now 6,550.

The union is bargaining for new labor agreements to cover some 30,000 workers throughout the oil industry at 65 refineries and hundreds of pipelines, terminals, petrochemical plants, and other facilities. Adequate staffing, worker fatigue, and safety are major concerns, explains USW Vice President Thomas Conway.

A February explosion, which injured four workers at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California, reinforced the issue of refinery safety. Support safe refineries and safe refinery communities by signing the poll at: http://www.usw.org/act/oilsafety