Independent US West Coast refiner Tesoro Corp has agreed to pay $8.08 million to 769 United Steelworkers union members in California and Washington State who were denied bonuses while on strike in 2015, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reported. The bonuses were awarded March 6, 2015 to nonstriking employees for the previous year, but Tesoro withheld the bonuses from the striking workers, contending it was in accordance with an agreement between the union and the company. Complaints were filed with the NLRB by workers at the company’s Carson, California, and Anacortes, Washington, refineries alleging failure to pay the bonuses was done in retaliation for the strike and an unlawful modification of the agreement, the NLRB said. Under the settlement agreement, Tesoro admits no violation of the US National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB says.
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