Posted on 01/31/2009 5:18:27 PM PST by Abathar
HOUSTON -- Some 24,000 refinery workers from the Gulf of Mexico to Montana are preparing to head to the picket lines.
A labor agreement expires at midnight Saturday. On Thursday, union negotiators turned down the third and latest offer of a 2.5 percent wage increase for each of the next three years, in addition to changes in medical coverage.
A strike would affect 60 producers, according to the United Steelworkers, which represents more than 30,000 oil workers nationwide.
The nation's biggest refiner, Valero, said it will shut down some facilities if workers strike, as will European oil company BP.
Shell Oil Co., the lead negotiator for the industry, along with Exxon Mobil, said its refineries will continue to make gasoline, diesel and other fuels using nonunion or replacement workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at theindychannel.com ...
And THIS is a reaction to the unemployment numbers nationwide in real time?
24,000 desperate souls with a wanton attempt to dictate job security politically?
They obviously can afford illicit mind altering drugs and take them to gain a happy self confidence to boot.
I finally saw a union story I liked - it seems that the power company workers in England are demanding that all
jobs be given to British citizens - as opposed to immigrants. WAY to GO!
A couple of days ago Obama said, “I don’t see organized labor as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.”
Could it be any clearer that this Socialist president has his head up his A?
Fire them and replace them. This is easy. Next question.
Supply and demand, my good man, supply and demand.
That's the name of the game to garner price support; and the oil companies will have an excuse to rasie the prices. Stay tuned.
It was clear to me at the '04 democrat convention....
My point IS the $$$’s their bosses are making and will continue to make [even in this economy] and why they are not subjecting themselves to the greater financial hardships their workers are expected to deal with? It’s a double standard. We tell the worker bees to shut up and take it...just be glad you’ve got a job, or fire one and expect the other to do the work of two, or say, don’t like it, leave....while the pencil pushers at the top go on their merry way barely feeling, if at all, a bump in the road. Some even take raises, clearly at the expense of others. Some say, that’s life. And, like you, say striking is not very smart. Well, I guess we’ll see. I worked for many years in a corporate environment and had I had the option to strike, I would have. I was the EA to the Chairman of an Insurance Company. My annual salary, per year, was what my boss made, just in salary, in a month. I’m not talking equal pay for all...I’m pointing out the HUGE difference in salaries/benefits. But make no mistake, it is this kind of difference that sends workers over the edge and more than happy to entertain ideas of socialism, backed by votes for liberals.
We complain all the time about what a crappy job our congresscritters are doing and complain even louder when they themselves pat themselves on the back with a pay raise.
Unions/Corporate....flip side of the same coin. Corporate takes what they want with an air of entitlement and at the expense of all beneath them. Unions, via strikes, and at the expense of Corporate, assist workers in getting their same due. Somehow, BOTH must be held accountable.
Just went by the station that jumped 10 cents yesterday. It just jumped another 5 cents today. 15 cents in the past 24 hours.
From a friend whose son is training:
Texas has the largest and most advanced P-Tech and E-Tech program in the country! It’s down somewhere near either Beaumont, Port Arthur, or Port Lavaca, where the biggest refineries are in Texas. The program has been in existence for many years and our CA local program was developed in collaboration with them. The programs train workers to walk right in and start work in a plant.
I predict if they strike he will nationalize them now.
I sure wish I could find something that appreciated in value just by sitting in a tank in the ground the way gasoline does. ;)
I would have agreed to a 10% cut before I was laid off.
Yeah, but the way management sees it, even if you agree to the pay cut, you're going to start looking for another job right away and leave when something better comes along, so they might as well get rid of you on their own terms.
You may be right. I may not have taken it anyway for the reason you mentioned.
But drastic layoffs really don't appreciate the company's market capitalization. We've seen this over the past few weeks just by looking at the markets.
We had a bit of a spike on this news, it appears to be over now (the spike). Tonight I tanked up at $1.86.9 at the warehouse club station.
True, the oil companies may have enough cash flow for themselves - but what will happen to our GASOLINE prices, when the pumps start to run dry?
The strike is postponed for now. The union and companies did not come to agreement. They are on rolling 24 hour extensions.
Refiners, Steelworkers Plan to Extend Contract Talks Second Day
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2QJYRa06.Xg&refer=home
2.5 percent wage increase
Maybe you’d turn it down but I think those jobs would be filled in about 3 seconds by those who would love to get that kind of money.
Anyway since when is a company’s profit margin tied to wages? That would be stupid esp. in the energy business.
Yeah..the emperor has a meeting coming up with the dufus Hugo ChaCha in Venezuela—maybe he can get some ideas about how to appropriate the oil sector.
Maxine Waters is desperately trying to find a microphone!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.