WHITING, Ind. — More than 800 members of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 have been on the picket line here since March 19, after voting to reject British Petroleum’s “final, best, and last” offer by 98.3%. They’re picketing 24/7 at the main entrances to the refinery to protest the lockout.
The 128-year-old facility typically processes 460,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Since the lockout, production is down. This is the only union-organized BP refinery.
The union is willing to negotiate, but BP “will not lift their lockout or resume negotiating unless we accept their demands to eliminate more than 100 local jobs, cut wages across nearly all job classifications and give up our bargaining rights,” a union statement says. “That’s not bargaining in good faith.”
When you visit the Local’s hall, it’s a bustling organizing center. A large table on one side of the room offers food donated by local businesses and union supporters. Across the room, the locked-out workers distribute information to union members on available benefits and sign in members and volunteers for picket duty. A van drives out to the lines every 15 minutes, picking up and dropping off pickets and making sure all the gates are covered.
Chicago and northwest Indiana are heavily industrialized areas. Thousands of USW District 7 members live and work in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Steelworkers from Local 1010 at Inland Steel, Local 1066 at U.S. Steel, USW Local 9777 in Chicago at Allied Tube and Conduit, and Local 6787 at Cleveland Cliffs in Burns Harbor have all joined the BP picket lines.
UAW Local 551 at the big Ford Chicago assembly plant has sent several delegations. In addition, members of the Chicago Teachers Union, Indiana State Teachers Association, USW Decorators Union Local 17, Painters Union in District 91, UNITE HERE Local 1 and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 have all joined in.
Matt Deering, a locked-out BP worker, told the Militant on the picket line that he really enjoyed meeting unionists from other places. “If you give solidarity, you will get solidarity. We are stronger together,” he said. “And it’s important to get out and support other strikes to show we’re all in this fight together.” He told the Militant he was especially impressed with some of the smaller unions that came to lend their support, like the Decorators Union, whose members work at the McCormick Place Convention Center.
NIPSCO workers support
On April 1, close to 1,000 members of USW Local 12775 and 13796 were locked out by bosses at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company. The day before they had rejected the bosses’ “last, best, and final” offer. The company demanded job and wage cuts, to be made up with massive amounts of forced overtime. The locked-out NIPSCO and BP workers joined each other’s picket lines.
The two USW locals at NIPSCO, organizing both field and clerical workers, recently voted to accept contracts and are now back to work.
Pickets at BP welcome volunteers. “If you want to join a picket line, come to the union hall first,” said President Eric Schultz of USW Local 7-1. The union will drive you out to join the picketing, where tents and burn barrels are up 24 hours a day.
They also appreciate donations of food and beverages at the union hall. To make a financial contribution, drop it off or mail it to United Steelworkers Local 7-1, Inc. Strike and Defense Fund, 2045 Schrage Avenue, Whiting, IN 46394.