Hundreds of Chevron workers at California refinery go on strike

[Omaha Steve]

Chevron says it will bring trained workers to the plant in Richmond and continue operations as normal

Hundreds of Chevron workers in California went on strike Monday after the company and the United Steelworkers union failed to reach a contract agreement.

More than 500 workers at a refinery producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and lubricating oils in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Richmond began striking at 12.01am, the union said in an email. Workers recently voted down a contract offer from Chevron, and the company refused to return to the bargaining table.

Refinery operations will continue as normal, Chevron said. But if the strike were to halt operations at the refinery, that could negatively affect fuel prices in California, which already has the highest gas prices in the US at $5.86 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.

“It would be coming at a very unfortunate time because we already have a shortage of refinery capacity in California right now, and so losing even one or two percent of the state’s refinery capacity would probably result in a noticeable increase in gasoline prices,” Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley professor, told KTVU.

FULL story: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/21/chevron-strike-california-workers-walk-out-refinery

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Oh great. The industry will use this as an excuse to raise prices another .50 a gallon.

I hope they can win.