Average wages, just saying.
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes472221.htm
I don’t think the pay rate is the issue for the strike.
The refiner’s national negotiations have hinged on safety issues and the amount of overtime refinery workers have been asked to work, Oliver said. Locally, Steelworkers has pushed LyondellBasell on a number of issues including employee benefits and hiring contractors, Oliver said.
Let me correct myself, pay raises is part of the negations.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/31/refineries-labor-strike-notices-idUSL1N0VA0HF20150131
...The drop in oil prices since this summer may have cut the union’s ability to win its objectives, said an oil industry analyst.
“I think the union would have had a lot more leverage six months ago when the price (of oil) was $100 a barrel,” said Andrew Lipoid, president of Lipoid Oil Associates in Houston. “But now, when the industry is facing hard times and layoffs have been announced, their bargaining power is limited.”...
The USW is seeking annual pay raises double those of the last agreement. It also wants work that has been given in the past to non-union contractors to start going to USW members, a tighter policy to prevent workplace fatigue, and reductions in members’ out-of-pocket payments for healthcare.
The starting pay for USW member in an oil refinery is about $37.50 an hour.
At least three contract offers have been rejected by USW negotiators since contract talks began on Jan. 21. The most recent rejection was on Friday.
A strike is not expected to affect operations at refineries where workers walk off their jobs, said a refining consultant.
“I am not aware of any examples when refineries have not continued operating with replacement workers rather than union workers,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, an Irvine, California, refining consultancy.