See our proposal at a glance

The company's proposal is bult to provide strong, good-paying jobs while ensuring the long-term success of the refinery. View the latest proposal.

Skills-based progression

bp Whiting refinery proposes changing the refinery’s progression system from primarily seniority-based to primarily competency and skills-based. bp would offer enhanced training opportunities, and employees could qualify for higher pay and positions more quickly than the current system.

Getting employees qualified across most work stations – five of seven, instead of as few as one – improves coverage, enables fairer overtime allocation and strengthens safety by building a broader understanding of refinery operations, so everyone is better equipped to both prevent and respond to issues as they emerge.

Progression maps:

• Operating Technician
• Operations Technician 4 or Board Technician
• Maintenance Curriculum

Current and future pay 

bp Whiting refinery offers an average 13% raise (or over $7 per hour) over four years and has agreed that raises in the last two years of the agreement would match the national pattern when it is determined.

• bp would also provide a Discretionary Annual Cash Bonus for all who meet the defined criteria.
• In addition, all employees would receive a one-time lump sum payment ranging between $2,500 to $10,000. 
• No changes would be made to retirement programs or the current benefit coverage level.

Direct impact of job restructuring

bp has communicated our goal of transferring some non-core craft line work to our incumbent specialized third-party contractors, just as most of our competitors already do today.

• The approximately 65 union-represented employees who would be impacted by this proposed change would all be generously compensated, with most being eligible for a payment equal to one year of base pay. 
• Impacted employees could potentially return to working at the refinery through the third-party contractors that provide services at the site.

Direct impacts to the union

The offer does not broadly remove bargaining rights from the Whiting Bargaining Unit. Most proposals change contract terms but do not waive the union’s right to bargain.

• Only two proposals include a clear waiver of bargaining rights: the proposals regarding use of AI tools and technology and the use of time clocks. In the company's current proposal, these waivers would only exist for the upcoming contract agreement, not for future agreements.
• For these items, under the proposed offer, the company would still notify the union before implementation but would not be required to bargain over effects. This type of waiver is lawful, commonly used, and limited to those specific items.
• Under the proposed offer, the union would have representation on the Joint Health and Safety Council, which sets personal safety standards and policies for the refinery.
• Under the proposed offer, bp would seek employee input on future training through the Process, Maintenance, and Lab Committees. As an employer, bp is responsible for ensuring recommendations for training are compliant and fit-for-purpose to each job.”

Other provisions – Work-Life Balance & Agreement Term

Other key aspects of the proposal focused on improving work-life balance include:

• Improved provisions for fairer overtime distribution to make it equitable
• Increased meal payments and boot allowances
• New work schedule for Maintenance Technicians – 4x10s

Finally, bp proposes a contract term of six years and an extended industrial peace clause to effectively apply the changes we are proposing. This industrial peace clause, which is common in the industry and already in other USW agreements, would ensure a 150-day notice period before the union could strike or the company could lockout employees. Both proposals reduce labor uncertainty for employees and the company.

Timeline of events

Since negotiations began, bp and USW elected leadership have held more than 60 meetings. For nearly two months after the lockout began, USW elected representatives refused to engage with us beyond proposing a return to work under the old agreement without resolving outstanding issues.

On July 30, Governor Braun’s office convened a joint meeting between bp and USW’s elected representatives. The two parties met again on September 14, 17, and 22 and are progressing negotiations.

Keeping the refinery running safely as we negotiate

bp Whiting refinery continues to operate with highly skilled and qualified personnel, many of whom are bp employees. Most have previously worked in similar roles and were trained for over a year, with over 80,000 hours completed, in the event they were needed. ​​

​We remain ready to return to the table and bring employees back once an agreement is reached.