HOUSTON, April 19 (Reuters) – Union workers at Tesoro Corp’s
97,000 barrel per day (bpd) Los Angeles Refinery in
Wilmington, California, voted to authorize a strike if talks
with company management for a new agreement are unsuccessful, a
spokeswoman for the United Steelworkers Union (USW) said on
Wednesday.
The local USW union at the Los Angeles Refinery is fourth
representing a Tesoro plant to authorize a strike, but no work
stoppage is expected before the contract for the Los Angeles
Refinery workers expires on April 30.
The contracts for workers at Tesoro’s Anacortes, Washington,
Mandan, North Dakota, and Martinez, California, refineries
expired at the end of January.
Workers at those three refineries have already granted
authority to their local leaders to call a walkout if an
agreement cannot be reached with management.
The four refineries where workers have voted to authorize a
strike account for two-thirds of Tesoro’s combined crude oil
refining capacity of 666,000 bpd.
A Tesoro representative was not immediately available to
discuss the Los Angeles Refinery vote on Wednesday night.
Workers at Tesoro’s Kapolei, Hawaii, and Salt Lake City
refineries have voted to accept Tesoro’s contract offers.
The USW has said Tesoro has made changes in the terms of the
current contract without first negotiating with the union.
The Steelworkers union is also seeking stricter safety
protections at Tesoro’s refineries. An April 2010 explosion at
the company’s Anacortes refinery claimed the lives of seven
workers.
