(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Union workers at three more Tesoro refineries have rejected new labor contracts, setting up the potential for a strike. A general strike at Tesoro's refineries still negotiating could shut down 500,000 bpd of refining capacity, though it wouldn't spread to refineries run by other companies.
Union workers at three more Tesoro refineries have rejected new labor contracts, setting up the potential for a strike. A general strike at Tesoro's refineries still negotiating contracts could shut down a combined 500,000 bpd of refining capacity.
United Steelworker (USW) locals at Tesoro's refineries in Anacortes, Wash., Martinez, Calif., and Kapolei, Hawaii, voted against the tentative three-year contract agreed upon on Jan. 31 by the union's national representatives and Royal Dutch Shell's US arm Shell Oil.
Workers at Tesoro's Mandan, N.D., refinery are in negotiations after having rejected the contract earlier in the month, while those at the company's Salt Lake City, Utah, facility haven't voted on the contract, said USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock. A strike at Tesoro's refineries wouldn't spread to those run by other companies, she added.
At the Tesoro 120,000 bpd Anacortes refinery, where an April 2010 explosion killed seven people, 98% of voting USW members rejected the contract, according to the local union's website.