Valero proposal stymies Port Arthur refinery talks: sources
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A company proposal to change who would assign daily work has stymied negotiations for a new contract at Valero Energy Corp’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, said sources familiar with the talks.
The dispute between negotiators for the company and United Steelworkers union local 13-423 has moved off from the bargaining table as Valero sent emails to refinery employees two weeks ago and, in response, the union conducted membership meetings, the sources said.
Valero has proposed the new contract allow salaried supervisors to assign daily jobs, taking that authority away from head operators, hourly workers who have for decades made the assignments, the sources said.
A Valero spokeswoman did not reply to a request for comment.
Valero’s proposed change, according to the sources, could undermine union seniority and operational safety as the assignments may not go to those best qualified to do the inside and outside operator jobs, but to those who win management’s fav
“The head operators are the most responsible guys in the refinery,” one of the sources said.
The change could also end rotation in job assignments, leaving some stuck in the same role for long periods of time, according to the sources.
The negotiations underway between Valero and local 13-423 will produce a local agreement that will be paired with the national agreement being hammered out by the USW International’s negotiators and Shell Oil Co, the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is representing U.S. refinery and oil companies.
The current national agreement and the contract at the Valero Port Arthur refinery both expire early Friday morning.
Workers at the Valero refinery can’t strike until the contract expires and the officials at the USW International authorize the walk-out, the sources said.
Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by James Dalgleish
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