The Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce said Friday it returned BP’s monetary sponsorship of Whiting’s Pierogi Fest, scheduled for July 24-26 in downtown Whiting.
Chamber spokesman Jim Wiseman declined to disclose the amount of the sponsorship, but BP has been one of the event’s top tier sponsors in past years.
The chamber said it’s going to offer a donation system for BP’s union workers who’ve been locked out of their refinery jobs since March 19.
More than 800 members of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 are embroiled in a contract fight with BP over pay and job reductions.
Donation boxes will be located throughout the festival with proceeds donated to locked-out workers.
Before the chamber said it returned BP’s sponsorship money, a Facebook post encouraged a boycott of Pierogi Fest because of BP’s sponsorship.
“We’re standing with the locked-out workers and saying NO to companies that put profits over people and fair labor practices,” stated the post whose author was listed as Brandon Hiatt.
The chamber announcement follows the city of Hammond’s decision earlier in the week to return BP’s $20,000 Festival of the Lakes sponsorship.
“I don’t like not accepting money to help with the fest as it’s very expensive,” McDermott said via an earlier text to a reporter on Monday. “Fests are loss generators, but in this case, accepting money from BP wouldn’t send the right signals to the locked-out men and women of Local 7-1.”
Municipalities, including Hammond, East Chicago and Gary have issued resolutions backing the locked-out workers.
The Lake County Commissioners may issue a similar resolution, according to president Mike Repay.
“With your treatment of your own employees represented by United Steelworkers, you’ve broken your end of the deal. Bring them back, quit playing games with the lives of region residents,” said Repay, D-3rd.
On Monday, BP spokesman Cesar Rodriguez expressed disappointment over the returned Festival of the Lakes sponsorship money from Hammond.
“Our priority is to reach a fair agreement with the USW, while continuing to support our employees, operate safely and reliably, and serve the Northwest Indiana community that has been home to the Whiting refinery for generations,” Rodriguez said in an earlier statement to the Post-Tribune.
Staff writer Alexandra Kukulka and freelance reporter Michelle L. Quinn contributed.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
