To: All Whiting Employees
The purpose of this Employee Information Bulletin (EIB) is to provide an update on the status of negotiations and to correct some inaccuracies in the media regarding bp’s proposals.
The company and the union last met on March 17. At that meeting the company provided an updated settlement offer to the union, which included revisions to two proposals that were in support of the union’s demands. The union has not responded to that offer or requested to meet since that time.
On Friday, March 27, the company became aware of media coverage in which union leadership made statements along the lines of how they had “consistently been asking bp to get back to the bargaining table” and had “received no response.” The company has received no such request and sent a formal request to the union seeking clarification about what communication channels were being used and who was being contacted. The union declined to provide any response to that request.
In a follow up, on April 1 the company sent a letter to union leadership inquiring after their plans to respond to the company’s March 17 settlement offer and resume negotiations. The union responded on April 8 but failed to address the proposals or agree to meet and offered no dates to resume discussion. Today, the company again reached out in an attempt to schedule a date with the union to resume negotiations. Our hope is that the union will choose to engage directly at the bargaining table rather than continue to make inaccurate statements in the media.
bp has been transparent, since mid-2025, about its strategy to shift certain work from permanent bp roles to workers employed by specialized third-party contractors. These proposed changes are intended to allow the refinery to focus its workforce on core operations, and remain competitive over the long term, so the Whiting refinery can continue to operate safely and sustainably for years to come.
It is important to be clear about what this actually means.
Beginning in early 2025, bp engaged the union in discussions regarding changes to its maintenance strategy and the proposed discontinuation of certain non-core bp maintenance crafts. Within the industry, many other refiners have already moved to specialty contractors to perform these crafts.
At that time, approximately 65 employees would have been impacted. Despite a generous severance offer, the union chose to reject that offer. Following that rejection, bp was transparent and told the union that non-core staffing adjustments would need to be addressed in the 2026 negotiations.
bp’s current settlement offer includes non-core staffing reductions that would impact approximately 65 employees and also includes a separate, voluntary option for approximately 40 additional craft employees. For the additional 40 employees, the choice of whether to leave or stay is within the employees’ discretion.
Employees who would be impacted by bp’s proposal are being offered a generous lump-sum payment, with most being eligible for one year of base pay. Additionally, impacted employees could potentially return to working at the refinery through the third-party contractors that provide services at the site.
Despite union claims, the company has not proposed base wage cuts for all union-represented employees. In fact, the majority of the classifications are either receiving an increase or remaining flat (referred to as being “red circled”) until the market rates catch up. There are two job classifications, OSF and OSC, which are currently paid premiums on top of their base pay. Because those roles would no longer exist under the proposed new structure, those employees would lose those pay premiums, but their base pay would not be impacted. To address that premium loss, the company offered one-time lump sum payments of up to $10,000, payable to impacted employees after ratification.
Overall, even after the proposed job restructuring, our employees will see an average increase of 13%, or $7 per hour, over the next four years.