Oil Industry Labor Relations

Striking oilmen aiming to halt Kuwaiti oil production said Sunday they would continue their two-day-old action after talks with the government failed to resolve a labor dispute. "We will continue this strike until the company meets our demands," said Anwar al-Balhan, general secretary of Kuwait Oil Co. Labor Union. Oil traders said the union has failed to put a dent in the gulf state's production of 2 million barrels per day, source of 90% of state revenue.

A new survey finds workers at the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. are experiencing continued intimidation and harassment for reporting safety concerns along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Workers who responded to a survey conducted by the government agency that oversees the pipeline said the alleged harassment came from a couple of executives at Alyeska headquarters.

Oil industry workers on Wednesday threatened to strike as early as Sunday at three California refineries that Tosco Corp. is buying from Unocal Corp., raising the specter of higher gasoline prices for consumers. The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union has rejected terms of the contract offered by Tosco that includes plans to cut 15% to 20% of the 900 jobs at refineries in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Maria, said Kelly Quinn, president of OCAW Local 1-675.

Tosco Corp. and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union reached a tentative agreement on all issues that had caused the union to threaten a strike at the three California refineries Tosco is buying from Unocal Corp., according to a spokeswoman for Tosco. OCAW officials could not be reached for comment. Details of the agreement, which still must be ratified by union members, were not available.

Tosco Corp. had threatened to shut down a refinery near San Francisco if an oil workers union did not accept a contract calling for layoffs of nearly 20% of the union's workers at three refineries that Tosco is buying from Unocal Corp., union leaders said Tuesday.

Union workers at the four California refineries being acquired by Tosco Corp. have ratified a contract that eliminates more than 100 jobs, ending contentious negotiations but fueling a new round of divisiveness. Representatives of the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers union said many of the people being dismissed are either union activists or are in poor health. About 900 union members work at the refineries in Wilmington, Carson, Santa Maria and San Francisco.