03/22/2026
https://www.usw7-1.com/
After workers overwhelmingly rejected the offer negotiated by BP (British Petroleum) and the United Steelworkers, the company announced it was locking out nearly 900 Whiting, Indiana refinery workers as of 12:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 19.
BP confirmed it intends to continue to operate the largest refinery in the Midwest without the highly skilled United Steelworkers employees.
Last Thursday, workers voted against BP’s last offer by 98.3 percent. Turnout was over 94 percent. The workers, members of USW Local 7-1, expressed their determination to fight relentless attacks on wages, living standards, working conditions and job security.
The agreement would have led to 100 fewer union workers and broader use of contract workers, $8-$10 hourly wage cuts, the closure of the environmental department, attacks on seniority and implementation of AI with no job protections. Worse still, the six-year agreement would have removed the facility from the national pattern bargaining timeline, creating a precedent for the oil companies to divide and conquer workers one refinery at a time.
Negotiations between USW Local 7-1 and BP are reportedly ongoing. The company said the lockout could be avoided if the union accepts its counteroffer from earlier this week of the same agreement but with a signing bonus of $2,500, reduced from $7,500—a kick in the teeth.
Local 7-1 President Eric Schultz stated, “BP is obviously not serious about reaching a deal that doesn’t include cutting jobs, reducing wages and eliminating bargaining rights.”
The proposed agreement contains attacks on a scale without precedent in recent years. Whiting is also the largest refinery in the Midwest, producing 440,000 barrels daily, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Intelligence firm Rystad Energy predicts that US oil makers could make an extra $63.4 billion if the price of oil averages above $100 a barrel this year because of US-Israel war on Iran.
