LONG BEACH >> A national oil workers strike could spill over to the Port of Long Beach, a seaport already besieged with unprecedented bottlenecks.
About 100 members of the United Steelworkers who work on the Tesoro oil terminals at the Port of Long Beach may go on strike if the union and Tesoro cannot come to an agreement on benefits.
“We’re trying to get Tesoro to come to their sense and negotiate with us,” said David Campbell, secretary-treasurer of the local USW.
In a statement Wednesday, Tesoro spokeswoman Tina Barbee said the company has not yet received further notices of an intent to strike and added that “our comprehensive contingency planning has prepared us to safely operate our facilities with trained and qualified staff.”
“We have been and will continue to bargain in good faith,” she stated.
Since Jan. 21, the USW, which represents 30,000 workers at refineries, terminals, pipelines and chemical plants, have been negotiating with big oil companies on a national agreement that would dictate wages, benefits and working conditions. Once a tentative agreement is reached, it’s presented to every local bargaining unit, which includes local issues pertaining to them. After it’s reviewed, workers would then ratify the contract.
But USW said they’ve been forced to file unfair labor practice charges, accusing companies for failing to bargain in good faith and managers allegedly threatening employees, said USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock.
Hancock added that health and safety concerns remain an issue on the table. Many of their members are working more than 12-hour days for several weeks at a time, leaving them fatigued and susceptible to mistakes that could cause refinery explosions, she said.
“We’re trying to get the industry to work on these issues,” she said.
USW members have conducted walkouts at 11 refineries since Feb. 1, when the contract expired, Hancock said. Those refineries, including one in Carson, represent at least 13 percent of fuel capacity in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.
Tesoro Logistics, which includes the crude workers at oil terminals at the Port of Long Beach, are currently on a rolling 24-hour contract extension with USW, but how long that is in place is unknown.
If USW members at Tesoro’s Long Beach terminals strike, they would be part of the largest oil workers’ strike since 1980, when work halted for three months, according to Bloomberg.
This labor dispute is the latest development affecting the Port of Long Beach, which is already dealing with epic congestion due to the arrival of bigger ships carrying more cargo, an uneven distribution of trailers needed to move containers, a shortage of rail cars and unresolved talks between the dockworkers’ union and their employers.
“Importation of crude oil through the Tesoro terminals at the Port of Long Beach is crucial to the state’s energy needs and the local economy,” said port spokesman Lee Peterson. “The Port strongly urges management and labor to come to an agreement that would forestall any disruption of the movement of oil through the Tesoro terminals.”
While going on strike at the port is an option, Campbell hopes for another alternative.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to reach a resolution to outstanding issues that we can all live it,” Campbell said.
Contact Karen Robes Meeks at 562-714-2088.
