To: All Whiting Employees
Questions & Answers About the Company’s Last, Best, and Final Offer (LBFO)
The purpose of this Employee Information Bulletin (EIB) is to provide additional answers to some commonly asked questions that you may get before the Company’s final offer is voted on by our employees.
Q1: Does the Company’s LBFO remove rights from employees within the Whiting Bargaining Unit?
A1: The LBFO 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:
For these items, 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 proposals.
Regarding Proposal 1F (training, qualifications, job/pay progression, and job structure), the parties bargained in good faith, but the Union rejected the proposal in full on February 25. The proposal would replace existing structures and practices to allow implementation.
For future changes under Proposal 1F, the Company has committed to informing the Union and seeking input, while retaining management rights over training content, work assignments, and maintenance craft allocations.
Q2: Why isn’t the core bp U.S. Severance Plan being provided for employees in the impacted non-core craft lines?
A2: The Company engaged in mid-term bargaining with the union in June 2025 regarding the discontinuation of the non-core Builder, HVAC, Equipment Handler and Fresh Air craft lines. As part of these negotiations, bp offered to provide impacted employees with benefits provided under the bp U.S. Severance Plan.
These matters were discussed in detail, and the Company was clear with the Union that the offer to provide benefits under the U.S. Severance Plan would not extend beyond July 31, 2025. The Company also informed the Union if agreement could not be reached a similar proposal would be part of the 2026 negotiations. The Union rejected the Company’s proposal and the offer of the bp U.S. Severance Plan expired. While Environmental Technicians were not part of the discussion in June of 2025, the Company’s current proposal provides impacted employees with the option of returning to their former job classification or taking a lump sum payment.
Q3: Are the staffing adjustments within the Machinist, Metals Mechanic, and Instrument Electrician core craft line classifications mandatory?
A3: No. The staffing adjustments proposed for the Machinist, Metals Mechanic, and Instrument Electrician core craft line classifications are voluntary.
The Company will offer a lump-sum payment to employees who voluntarily elect to leave under the proposal, up to the maximum number of positions identified for each classification.