LINDEN, N.J. — Some two dozen locked-out members of Teamsters Local 877 walked the picket line outside the main gate to the Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery here Oct. 25. Passing car and truck drivers honked their horns in support.
The company locked out the 385 oil refinery workers Oct. 19 after they voted to reject a contract that failed to meet their demand for higher pay. At the same time the bosses are demanding concessions on healthcare benefits, paid time off and vital safety protections. They are also demanding a shorter training period for new hires, at the same time pushing to extend the 10-month probation period, tying it to workers gaining a list of qualifications taking as long as six years.
The union is maintaining 24-hour picket lines at all three gates of the refinery, the largest on the East Coast.
“We’re doing this for our families and for the young guys and gals in the refinery,” Jason, a refinery worker for 10 years who asked that his last name not be used, told this Militant correspondent. “We work 12 hours a day, and they can work us 13 days before giving us a day off. We need a decent fatigue and sick-day policy.”
Steve Beatty, president of the New Jersey Education Association, joined the picket line. He said solidarity from the union movement was essential.
“How are locked-out workers supposed to afford groceries and healthcare? How are educators supposed to absorb crushing health insurance increases on salaries already stretched thin? Working families cannot keep being handed the bill for corporate greed,” he posted on Facebook. “I’m calling on our locals and members to turn solidarity into action. Organize a visit to the picket line. Ask Local 877 how we can help meet families’ immediate needs.”
The New Jersey AFL-CIO also urges its members to join the picket lines, at 1400 Park Avenue in Linden. “Wear your union colors. Show your union pride! We hope to see you there!”
News of the lockout spread quickly in the area. When we came a large stack of pizza boxes was piled up at the picket line, a generous donation from John’s Cafe in nearby Elizabeth. “Every show of support reminds our members and their families that WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT!” the local wrote on its Instagram page.
Emergency services in the refinery are normally carried out by union members who today are locked out of the plant. “To me, running this refinery with a skeleton crew is a huge safety risk. The company maintains that they can do it. I hope they can,” Local 877 President Jeff Sanford told CBS News.
Many on the picket line said they are following the months-long lockouts of fellow refinery workers at Marathon in Martinez, California, and at BP in Whiting, Indiana. Refinery bosses, already rolling in record profits, are driving to squeeze even more out of workers.
Vivian Sahner contributed to this article.