BP Whiting refinery initiates lockout after failed contract negotiations with USW members

The BP refinery in northwest Indiana announced on Tuesday that it will initiate a lockout after contract negotiations failed between the company and the union representing workers.

The decision comes after a meeting between both parties on Tuesday, where the refinery said the United Steelworkers Union, which represents 900 workers at the refinery, rejected the company's revised offer.

In a statement, the refinery said, "The company has made the difficult decision to initiate a lockout as protracted negotiations have produced no progress on proposals that are most critical to the long-term sustainability of the refinery."

They added, "In addition to the status of negotiations, we have been operating in a continued state of labor uncertainty since February 1, including facing the ongoing risk of a strike with only 24-hours' notice. It is vital that we control this timeline to allow a safe and orderly transfer of operations to our qualified and highly skilled team."

Last month, workers held a rally for a fair contract after weeks of rolling 24-hour contract extensions, which the company said it's also canceling.

The union claimed that the company wants to eliminate more than 100 jobs, cut salaries, and install AI surveillance systems. A total of 98% of the workers represented by the union recently voted to authorize a strike, published reports noted.

USW president Eric Shultz responded to the refinery's lockout, saying, "We presented British Petroleum with an offer today that included accepting several of their proposals - only for them to reject that after just four hours and serve us with a lockout notice. They continue to demand that we cut more than 100 jobs, accept pay cuts to nearly all positions and give up our bargaining rights. That's just unacceptable. We are prepared to keep fighting for a fair agreement that protects local jobs, protects wages and protects the rights of our members."

The company said during the lockout, union maintenance workers should not report to the refinery after Tuesday, and those who were to work on Wednesday will be paid for their scheduled times. All other union workers who were scheduled for Tuesday evening and Wednesday will have to report for their scheduled times.

Following the start of the lockout, the refinery said that there would be a trained team to continue operations at the refinery with no disruptions expected.

The lockout will go into effect beginning on Thursday, March 19. The company said the lockout will end if the union accepts the proposal from Tuesday's meeting.