TEXAS CITY — The union representing about 1,110 workers at the city’s largest refinery says key safety procedures put in place after a fatal explosion in 2005 killed 15 contract workers and injured more than 180 people have been allowed to erode. United Steelworkers has taken the complaints public as national talks to negotiate new contracts at refineries across the nation get underway. The current oil contract expires at the end of January with contract talks scheduled to begin Jan. 15. The National Oil Bargaining talks are divided into two sections. On a national level, the USW negotiates with the lead company, which in this round of talks is Shell Oil. Earlier this month the USW’s membership ratified what will be the union’s main points and plan for negotiations on a national level. Then there are issues that the local union negotiates at individual refineries. The message board in at the USW 13-1 is aimed at those local talks. Drive down Texas Avenue past the USW 13-1 union hall and the digital billboard sends some direct messages. “Marathon GBR slams the door on safety,” one message reads taking a shot at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery, which was owned by BP when the fatal blasts happened about 10 years ago. The USW represents about 1,100 of Galveston Bay Refinery’s 2,500 workers. Another message is aimed at Marathon Texas Refinery Division, while a third is directed at BP’s Texas City Chemicals plant. The messages, which have been running on the union’s digital message board for about a month, “should be out for all to see,” said Larry Burchfield, a Texas City Marathon Petroleum worker and member of USW’s National Oil Bargaining Program Policy Committee. “It is our opinion that Marathon has eroded great safety practices put in place after the explosion,” Burchfield said. “The USW was criticized in 2005 after the explosion at what is now the Galveston Bay Refinery site owned by Marathon because we did not warn the public, as well as our members, of all the safety issues that were being documented against BP. “Our goal is to not have that happen again. Marathon has chosen to regress safety at the facility and our members want to make this news public.” In March 2005, a series of human, equipment and procedural errors and years of inadequately financed maintenance on units led to a catastrophic series of events that ended is a massive explosion at the ISOM unit at what was then BP’s Texas City Refinery. Since that fatal incident, billions of dollars have been spent on improving the refinery and new safety procedures were put in place that included having the union and its leadership take part in any safety review. Marathon Petroleum purchased the refinery from BP in 2012 and took over operations last year. Burchfield said there are issues at Marathon’s Texas Refining Division site, too. “Marathon recently gave notice to implement new work rules in a manner inconsistent with fair labor practices,” he said. David Jankowski, the USW’s chairman of its GBR negotiating group said Marathon was proposing in the new contract to “strip/limit the USW’s participation in their safety programs.” Burchfield said a key provision after the 2005 blasts was to allow hourly workers to be key players in safety programs. That may be done away with, the union leader said. Marathon officials, despite repeated requests for comment, said little about the USW’s accusations. “Focus on safety at the refinery continues to be our first priority,” Marathon Petroleum spokeswoman Angelia Graves said. “As you are aware, we are currently in discussions and will continue to work with the union to come to a new agreement.” Chuck Rice, another Marathon Petroleum spokesman, said he was unaware of any safety issues at the plant. “As a matter of company policy, we do not discuss pending or ongoing labor negotiations with the news media.” Local Marathon Petroleum officials did not comment. Lee Medley, a Galveston County resident and longtime national USW leader, warned in October that the union was prepping for possible walkouts. Last month USW officials held strike preparation workshops. The rhetoric is not anti-industry sentiment, the local union officials said. “Our members, their families and the leadership of this union are all pro-industry and support safe and reasonable working conditions for our jobs and the community,” Burchfield said. Jankowski said the fear should be for the safety of workers and residents. “Damn right we are pro-industry,” he said. “We are worried to death about some catastrophic event that may cause (refiners to) lose their license to operate, not to mention those that will be killed and injured when it happens.”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:56:33 +0000
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