Steelworkers rally at BP corporate office as Whiting Refinery lockout nears 100 days

Chicago, IL – On June 26, members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-1 and their families held a solidarity rally and marched outside of British Petroleum’s (BP) Chicago corporate office. The rally was attended by USW members from locals all over Indiana, Illinois and beyond, as well as by members of USW International executive board. In support were local officials, members of the Chicago Teachers Union, community members and union workers from all around Chicago. 

Eric Schultz, president of USW Local 7-1, said in his speech, “They starve our families out and they’re just going to wait and wait and wait until we break. What they don’t understand is every day our membership’s getting stronger. Every day!” Schultz then led the crowd in chants of, “One day longer! One day stronger!”

Since March 19, over 800 members of USW 7-1 have been locked out of their jobs at the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana. USW 7-1 has called the lockout illegal, saying that BP has shown that they are more interested in breaking the union than they are at bargaining in good faith. BP’s offers at the bargaining table would cut pay, remove seniority-based promotions, further limit bargaining rights, and cut over 100 jobs.

This conflict began after BP brought in Jordan Marks as plant manager. BP hired Marks after he oversaw the ten-and-a-half month lockout of USW Local 13-243 workers at a ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas. “These aren’t negotiations. This is a ransom,” said Eric Schultz when speaking about the BP offer. 

The Whiting Indiana refinery is currently being operated by scabs brought in by BP from out of state. Since the lockout began, there has already been at least one incident where the refinery lost power, and a major flaring event occurred in April. Picketers outside the refinery were not notified of the flares by BP. Flaring is when a refinery burns off excess gases to prevent pressure buildups and is known to release toxic pollutants in the surrounding area while they do it. The picketers reported smelling sulfur and hydrogen.

“When they’re scabbing it, they’re putting the community and everybody in jeopardy that we could have a disaster or a catastrophe there. We can’t stand for that. We cannot allow it. Our members know those jobs, and you know how to run that refinery better than anyone else. And we’re going to make damn sure you get back there with your heads held high with your jobs!” said USW International Secretary-Treasurer Myles Sullivan in his speech at the rally. 

USW 7-1 is asking supporters to sign a petition to show that they stand united in solidarity with members of USW Local 7-1 and to demand BP end the lockout and negotiate a fair contract! The petition can be found at this link: usw.to/bp-end-lockout

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