To: All Whiting Employees
The purpose of this Employee Information Bulletin (EIB) is to provide more details on the Company’s economic proposal provided to the Union last Friday as well as a proposal exchange yesterday, and today, that included a “red-circle” base wage protection concept in conjunction with our newly proposed job classifications.
Economic Proposal
bp’s approach is to pay wage rates that are competitive to the market. To ensure bp’s pay is competitive, we use the midpoint of comparative wage data, such as that from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
BLS wage data is highly relied upon because it is independent, transparent, methodologically rigorous, comprehensive and widely validated. Policymakers, economists, and markets consistently consider BLS the most reliable source of labor and compensation information in the United States. As such, the Company uses BLS data, within our industry and our region, as a benchmark for Whiting’s wage competitiveness.
In our discussions with the Union, the Company shared how Whiting’s current base wage rates compare with BLS benchmarks. In short, our employees are paid very competitively. The Company reiterated that we intend to negotiate wages and other economic considerations that are competitive and appropriate for Whiting, which may or may not align with the outcome of the NOBP “pattern” negotiations between Marathon and the USW.
New Job Classifications
The Company has proposed new job classifications, and the parties are in the process of negotiating new base wage rates for these classifications. As part of these classification proposals the Company has proposed a “red circle” base wage protection concept if negotiated base wage rates for the new job classifications would be lower than current 2025 base wage rates. Red-circling is frequently used in such circumstances to protect employees from pay reductions.
Red-circle Base Wage Protection
As part of the Company’s proposal, employees hired prior to the effective date of the new collective bargaining agreement, would be eligible for red-circle base wage protection in the event their 2025 base wage rate would be higher than the base wage rate of the new job classification they would be placed into following the implementation of the newly proposed job classifications. This means employees would continue to receive their 2025 base wage rate until such time as the base wage rate of their new job classification surpasses their 2025 base wage rate. When the base wage rate for their new job classification equals or exceeds their 2025 red-circled base wage rates, they would then begin receiving this higher base wage rate including all future negotiated base wage increases.
In essence, pay would be protected (not reduced) and employees would continue receiving their higher 2025 base wage rate until the base wage rate of their new classification is greater. The only exception to this red-circle concept would be certain premium pay components associated with the current Operations Specialist Cross Qualified (OSC) and Operations Specialist Field (OSF) positions. As part of the Company’s proposal, the requirement for employees to be cross qualified on both Board & Field responsibilities would be discontinued as would the OSF position.
We expect to continue to have active discussions over the coming days about competitive wages and other economic considerations that balance the needs of all stakeholders.