Union chief Leo Gerald says U.S. refinery strike could spread

Workers from the United Steelworkers (USW) union walk a picket line outside the Shell Oil Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas February 1, 2015.  REUTERS/Richard Carson

The largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years could spread if talks over improved safety conditions do not resume soon, United Steelworkers union (USW) International President Leo Gerard said on Tuesday.

A total of 6,550 USW members are on strike at 15 plants, including 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of U.S. capacity. Union members work at more than 200 oil terminals, pipelines, refineries and chemical plants in the U.S.

The USW has said it is seeking to retain safety provisions from previous contracts and tighten fatigue standards for workers, as well as win back daily maintenance jobs now done by non-union contractors.

“(The strike spreading) depends on what happens in the next round of negotiations and that those negotiations resume fairly quickly,” Gerard in a telephone news conference from Atlanta.

Gerard, who is attending the AFL-CIO winter conference in Atlanta, said no date has been set for resuming negotiations.

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I keep warning people about Leo Gerald.

David DeGerolamo

      
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Don Johnson
Don Johnson
9 years ago

I understand the original concerns that got Unions active in this country and many of us as we were growing up agreed with what their common goals were ! That being said, we now see unions as a direct threat to our National security with the ships being denied in to the ports of California backlogging millions of pounds of everything from A-Z . These dock workers consisting of I believe to be two unions, have brought the commerce of the United States to its knees !
At the same time, these workers are making very good salaries and retirement benefits, medical insurance, etc. and are striking for several more dollars per hour ! Absolutely ridiculous.
I thought I would never hear my self say this, but they are a direct threat to National Security and should be ashamed of themselves and if they don’t stop this, they should be forced
to reopen the ports by the Feds ! They are acting like children with temper tantrums and we are all tired of it ! Get back to work and be part of the solution instead of part of the problem !

michael
michael
9 years ago

I think the same could be said for most Unions, they have outlived their purpose, and become a tick on the backbone of the nation.

JMarshalek
JMarshalek
9 years ago

I think they should sink those ships of the coast of California. They would make good fishing reefs for Americans to harvest fish from. And that would mean that Americans might have to produce their own goods again.

As far as trade unions go, they suffer from the greed that also has corrupted our politicians and their financial brokers.