The first nationwide oil refinery strike in more than 30 years was poised to expand this weekend in a labor dispute that might start having more of an impact on the price consumers pay for gasoline.
The United Steelworkers union said Saturday that workers at the largest refinery in the U.S., the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, started their strike at midnight Friday. Employees at two other refineries and a chemical plant in Louisiana planned to strike at the end of Saturday.
The union said in a statement that it expanded a strike that started Feb. 1 at refineries largely in Texas and California because the industry has refused to “meaningfully address” safety issues through good-faith bargaining. The union also wants to discuss staffing levels and limit the use of contractors to replace union members.
The union started negotiating a new contract Jan. 21 with Shell Oil Co. Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said in an e-mail that the company was “extremely disappointed” with the latest development. United Steelworkers represents about 30,000 workers at refineries, terminals, petrochemical plants and pipelines across the country. The strike started with about 3,800 workers at nine refineries. This latest expansion adds another 1,350 employees to the strike.
