The United Steelworkers' local union representing around 800 members at BP's 440,000 b/d Whiting, Ind., refinery and the oil major are scheduled to resume negotiations on Monday for a new labor contract to end a near two-month lockout.
Both sides appeared to remain far apart in agreeing with core issues over job security, compensation and other items, however.
BP said in a Wednesday statement it looked forward to continuing negotiations in good faith with the local union, maintaining that the refinery can't operate competitively and safely under the previous contract.
Both sides haven't met since the company's last offer on March 17.
BP began the lockout on March 19 when its employees took over operations of the largest inland U.S. refinery. The company said it doesn't expect the lockout to disrupt its operations or production.
BP also made public two letters it wrote to the union in April.
In its April 10 letter, the oil major told the union that it "has not addressed the substance of the proposal or advanced counterproposals for consideration."
On Friday, the union said in a statement that it will ask BP to "lift its lockout" and move away from its demands to eliminate more than 100 jobs and cut compensation, among other requests.
BP has previously said its offer includes "non-core staffing reductions that would impact approximately 65 employees" and a "separate, voluntary option for approximately 40 additional craft employees."
Both sides had been in talks since early January, a month before the USW reached a four-year national labor contract with dozens of other refineries.
Labor agreements in the refining industry are negotiated at both the national and local levels. In addition to the national pattern agreement, companies must also negotiate with unions of each refinery to reach individual contracts at the local level.
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-- Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 14:29 ET (18:29 GMT)
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