To: All Whiting Employees
The purpose of this Employee Information Bulletin (EIB) is to provide an overall status update on negotiations.
Over the past five weeks, the Company and Union have formally met, and exchanged proposals and counter proposals, on almost 50 occasions. The parties have also had several informal sidebars and small group discussions. The Company has consistently presented proposals, and remained available to meet, and remains committed to maintaining open and ongoing communication with the Union.
While discussions remain ongoing, and both parties continue to review and exchange proposals, a full tentative agreement has not been reached. Although proposals are still being exchanged, several key issues remain unresolved. The Company has significantly modified many of its proposals in an attempt to reach common ground with the Union.
As previously communicated, the Company and Union agreed to a rolling 24-hour contract extension last Saturday night. This means that the current collective bargaining agreement automatically renews every 24 hours unless either party cancels the extension. This extension remains in effect unless/until either party cancels the extension. The parties continue to meet and bargain in good faith and expect to meet again early next week.
It’s also important to note, we were informed that during the National Oil Bargaining Pattern (NOBP) negotiations last Saturday, Marathon made a final offer to the USW on annual wage increases and a new term of agreement. Today at 2:07 p.m. the USW sent a mass text that the USW Policy committee has voted to approve Marathon’s offer.
Regardless of what was agreed upon at the national level between Marathon and the USW, the Whiting Refinery is not required to follow the “pattern.” We will continue to bargain in the best interests of our employees, the company and the community.