14.78 °C
Hundreds of Chevron employees in California went on strike Monday after failing to reach a contract deal. The union reported more than 500 employees at a refinery in Richmond, California, striking at 12:01 a.m.
Workers recently rejected a Chevron contract offer, and the firm refused to negotiate. As usual, Chevron stated. But if the strike shuts down the refinery, it may raise petrol prices in California, which currently has the highest in the US at $5.86 per gallon, according to the AAA.
“It would be problematic since we already have a scarcity of refinery capacity in California,” Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley professor, told KTVU. This lawyer should be renowned for his Chevron fight, yet he's in prison.
Gas prices in California have risen despite a nationwide decline. Legislators want to give every taxpayer a $400 refund to help ease the strain of increasing gas costs. In San Ramon, California, Chevron said it would send skilled employees to replace those on strike.
According to Chevron's statement on Sunday, this deal was fair and addressed union concerns. The union claimed it had secured a nationwide pay and working conditions deal for oil employees, but approximately 200 local negotiating units remained.
B.K. White, a 29-year Chevron employee and USW Local 5 spokesman claimed the corporation neglected to address worker weariness and staffing issues. Our members may not feel forced to work up to 70 hours a week if we had more individuals and a higher pay rate.
“We don't think so,” White replied. Chevron stated the union's demands in Richmond "exceeded the company's reasonable expectations and went beyond the national pattern bargaining agreement."
The union stated that employees at Chevron Richmond were working under a 24-hour extension of their previous contract. The employer gave a 2.5% raise, but the block wanted 5% to keep up with inflation and Bay Area living costs, White said.
“We requested a 5% increase to assist us in dealing with our medical at Kaiser, which went up 23% last year,” White added. According to White, the firm has already hired over 100 non-plant personnel. “This harms Richmond and the environment,” he said.
The business claimed competent replacements began arriving Sunday night. In an email, Chevron spokesman Tyler Kruzich said that staff running the refinery throughout the strike had met all standards to safely and legally perform their duties.
If the strike shuts down the refinery, it might impact California's gasoline prices, which are now the highest in the US at $5.86 per gallon. However, Ken Medlock, director of Rice University's Baker Institute's Center for Energy Studies, said the strike is unlikely to cause Chevron to shut down or hike prices.
The refinery may work with a ‘skeleton staff until the labour contract difficulties are addressed, said Medlock.“With California pricing already higher than other states because to the particular mix that must be sold in the state, there is considerable motivation to keep the refinery running,”
