Oil Industry Labor Relations

Almost 2,000 members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union struck Mobil Oil Corp. refineries Thursday in Southern California, Texas and Washington in a dispute centered on union representation in key refinery jobs. After contract talks broke down and union members walked off the job, supervisory and management personnel continued to operate the Mobil refineries in Torrance; Beaumont, Tex., and Ferndale, Wash.

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.

Talks Start in Brazil Oil Strike: The state oil monopoly Petrobras is negotiating with oil workers to end a strike that started May 3, a Petrobras spokesman said. A meeting on Saturday led to an informal proposal by Petrobras to end the strike. The walkout is continuing pending further negotiations on raises and privatization.

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.

Nigerian Strike Shuts Second Chevron Field: A Chevron Corp. representative would not identify the field, which is in the Escravos region of Nigeria, or give production figures. Chevron's operations in Nigeria "are continuing, but we are obviously impacted by the strike activity," spokeswoman Jan Golon said.

Brazil Oil Workers Strike: The Brazil Federation of Oil Workers--estimated to include up to 80% of the nation's 50,000 oil workers--launched a strike that crippled operations at eight of the nation's 10 refineries and threatened the country with shortages of cooking gas and diesel fuel. Brazil refines the entire 1.2 million barrels of oil it consumes daily. Newspapers reported that the strike caught Petrobras, the government oil monopoly, with low stocks.

A little-noticed court ruling supporting three men fired from their oil-rigging jobs has given a boost to the badly eroded rights of all workers seeking justice in cases of allegedly wrongful discharges. The intriguing case involves drugs, job safety, unjust firings, a liberal judge and a feisty libertarian judge who is said to be in the running for an appointment by President Bush for the next opening on the Supreme Court.

The country's 10 state-run oil refineries were expected to grind to a halt within 24 hours as union workers went on strike. Oil unions called the strike in support of a claim for a 64.8% pay raise to make up for inflation. The state-run oil company, Petrobras, offered 21.47%. The strike is likely to disrupt gasoline exports to the United States. Brazil is America's second-biggest foreign gasoline supplier.

Negotiators for Amoco Oil Co. and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union reached tentative agreement in Denver on a new contract that the union hopes to use as a pattern for 60 other companies. The agreement averted a Sunday midnight deadline for a strike that could have spread to 44,000 OCAW workers. Most of the union's 300 contracts had been scheduled to expire. Ratification votes were set for today. Terms call for a 2-year contract to expire Jan.

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.

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.

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.

Amoco, Union Reach Tentative Accord: The pact negotiated by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union and Amoco Corp. would cover 30,000 Amoco employees. Agreements between the energy firm and the union traditionally become a model for contracts at other U.S. refineries and chemical plants. Its terms were not disclosed. Union officials said they were able to secure higher wages and improved job security--provisions that had been sticking points in the protracted talks.

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.

Brazil Oil Workers Strike: The Brazil Federation of Oil Workers--estimated to include up to 80% of the nation's 50,000 oil workers--launched a strike that crippled operations at eight of the nation's 10 refineries and threatened the country with shortages of cooking gas and diesel fuel. Brazil refines the entire 1.2 million barrels of oil it consumes daily. Newspapers reported that the strike caught Petrobras, the government oil monopoly, with low stocks.