Roughly 750 union steelworkers at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South
Philadelphia will be making a decision this week whether
or not to strike because of midcontract changes to pension and
health care benefits, the Delaware County Times reports.
According to union leadership, which delivered a letter
to PES, a joint venture between Carlyle Group and Energy Transfer Partners that produces
335,000-barrel-per-day at the refinery, a large part of the United Steelworkers
Union Local 10-1 contract is negotiated on the national level with
representatives from refineries across the country bargaining with
representatives from industry. Minor issues are then determined at the local
level. Union leaders told the Times that the pension and the medical provisions
are in the national agreement.
Roughly 750 union steelworkers at the Philadelphia Energy
Solutions refinery in South… more
An emergency meeting of union members will be held this
week.
“It’s to explain where we are in the process of preparing
for a strike and a strike vote the following week,” said Ryan O’Callaghan, president of the United
Steelworkers Union Local 10-1. “They suspended our pension ... They increased
the cost of our medical to our members and they changed the plan in its
entirety. We are paying more for less coverage ... It’s breaking a national oil
bargaining unit policy.”
PES management declined to comment to the Times.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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