To: All Whiting Refinery Employees
As you may be aware, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Company and the Union (USW Local 7-1 representing the majority of the hourly workforce at the Whiting Refinery) expires at 11:59 PM on January 31, 2026. The Company and the Union started negotiations on Monday, January 5, 2026, for a new agreement. The Company is committed to bargaining in good faith with the Union bargaining committee to conclude negotiations before the contract expires.
An important part of our focus is to keep all employees informed of key updates and to respond to questions as they arise. We will use different avenues to provide you with information about the negotiations, the process, the issues, etc. One way we will do this is through Employee Information Bulletins (EIB) like this one. We will send EIBs to all Whiting Refinery employees when it is important to provide factual information and updates.
We are also focused on helping Whiting Refinery supervisors and managers have accurate information so they are prepared with additional details should they be asked about the status of the negotiations. We plan to communicate relevant updates to them after they have been discussed at the table with the Union. We have separate communication channels with them in a similar manner called Manager Information Bulletins (MIB).
An additional way in which we’ll keep all employees and other key stakeholders informed will be through a website – www.whitingnegotiations.com. We will post these EIBs to this website so they are accessible to all our employees – even those who may not have seen it via email.
The purpose of this first EIB is to share with you our plans to provide accurate, up-to-date information about the process. We’d also like to share some high-level updates about the first few days of negotiations. The Company and Union passed approximately 40 different proposals, 30 from the Union and 11 from the Company.
The Company’s aim throughout this process is simple: to ensure Whiting remains a safe and competitive refinery for decades to come. To do this, we need to continue to improve our personal and process safety performance. Our goal is to have zero life-changing injuries and zero Tier 1 events. Additionally, we want to sustain the size and complexity of the refinery, position it for future growth, and deliver value to our integrated Midwest supply chain.
To that end, the Company’s 11 proposals focus on three main themes:
It is still very early in the process, and we look forward to continuing productive dialogue with the Union about these three important themes. As mentioned above, as discussions progress and questions from the workforce are raised, we are committed to providing factual responses to concerns. This includes questions raised directly to the bargaining team members and to your front-line leaders.
Thank you for all you do to make the Whiting Refinery a premier place of employment in our region. We are confident that by working together we can make the important improvements needed to continue to operate for generations to come.