Posted on 02/22/2015 11:41:56 AM PST by thackney
With the West Coast ports labor dispute involving 13,600 unionized dockworkers inflicting pain on 318 million Americans by causing billions of dollars a day in losses to the U.S. economy settling yesterday, now 30,000 unionized refinery workers across America intend to play the same leverage game by cutting off two-thirds of all U.S. diesel and gasoline supplies.
Just after US Labor Secretary Tom Perez took to the television circuit to tout how the Obama Administration believes the US economy can “recover quickly” from the nine months-long port turmoil, the United Steel Workers (USW) launched the first nationwide oil refinery strike in 35 years, which will drastically reduce fuel supplies to ships, trucks and railroads trying to clear the docks and relieve bottled-up American supply chains.
The USW represents workers at 65 refineries that produce about 64 percent of US petroleum-based fuel production. A union spokesman said the USW expanded a strike that started at a couple of refineries in Texas and California, because the industry refused to “meaningfully address” safety issues through good-faith bargaining. But the real issue is who pays the Obamacare “Cadillac Tax” on “gold-plated” health plans.
Breitbart News, in “Cal Fruits and Crops Rotting at West Coast Ports In Union Fight,” chronicled how the labor slowdown at the 29 West Coast ports between employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association and members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, whose members command average wages and benefits of about $1,200 a day, was causing $2 billion a day in economic damage to the U.S. economy and letting about one third of West Coast agricultural exports rot....
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
It’s like we’re living Ayn Rand’s life in reverse.
Obama White House calls Strike ,finds out Strike no good ,calls off Strike ?
Ummm ... I’ll be right back. I’m going to fill up the tank ... :-) ...
Don,t refineries mostly keep chugging along? It,s tough to picket a pipiline.
Just union thugs doing what union thugs do best.
I’m glad THAT’S over! We have two shipping containers full of pottery for our Garden Centers sitting out there. Grrrrrr!
Really special, gas here in O.C. CA. has already gone up about seventy cents in less than three weeks, the liberals must be thrilled to death.
Yes, CA with its CA government demanded special recipes will likely have an impact.
The combination of the Tesoro’s Martinez refinery and the shutdown of the ExxonMobil Torrance refinery is a significant percentage of CA’s gasoline production.
It doesn’t help with the unions shutting down production elsewhere and I am not convinced the union didn’t have a hand in the Torrance refinery explosion. Also we are way to early for the summer blend gas. These increases started with the unions actions.
I will believe it after I see 1 weeks of worth in the port, verbal agreements mean nothing.
I hope you get them.
My container is projected to be anther 4 weeks even if they aren’t slowed down.
There is that many containers to process.
Yep. My delivery was to be here in February. One week to go. Kinda doubting it’ll show up more than a week before I need it, if then! Danggit!
This is why they do not want the keystone pipeline to go to Alabama... Alabama is ready to build what California is to trash at the orders of stay homosexual/muslim Obama.
Mine was due 5-Feb
Shut down production where? All other refineries on strike are still producing gasoline, diesel, etc. No other refineries have been shut down.
If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline will not go anywhere near Alabama. It will stop in Steele City, Nebraska.
It is difficult to project how long it will take before the strike will start restricting fuel supplies, but prices are already moving up. As companies begin to start hoarding fuel stocks, the 30,000 USW refinery workers will start causing billions of dollars a day in economic damage to the U.S. economy–and perishable crops will again rot.
So let's call it union action at other refineries. Happy now?
http://charts.gasbuddy.com/ch.gaschart?Country=Canada&Crude=t&Period=1&Areas=USA%20Average,,&Unit=US%20$/G
Increase in stock levels is not a cause of prices to rise.
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