Negotiations Update #10 from Chris DellaFranco – April 9, 2026
Addressing misconceptions about bp Whiting refinery's position
Key Takeaways:
- On April 1, we formally reached out to the union, expressing our interest in getting back to the table and highlighting a range of dates for potential meetings. The union ignored the dates and offered no substantive feedback on the current offer.
- Overall pay for represented employees is not being reduced. Base pay rates are either increasing or remaining constant, with employees expected to see an average increase of 13%, or $7 per hour, over four years.
- The current offer shifts certain work that is not specific to our expertise, such as scaffolding and HVAC services, to specialized third-party contractors, a common industry practice intended to improve efficiency and training.
- Our proposal would impact roughly 65 employees, not 100 as has been publicly claimed. Those affected would receive generous lump sum payments that, in some cases, equal up to a year's salary, along with potential opportunities with local union contractors.
- We are reducing pay premiums associated with work that we no longer require. For those impacted employees, we have offered lump sum payments up to $10,000 to help offset the change.
- We believe the issues under negotiation are critical to the refinery's long-term safety and competitiveness and cannot simply be deferred by returning to the prior agreement unchanged.
"The union's position would have us return to work under the prior agreement without resolving the issues we have been bargaining over for months, including issues that matter to the long-term safety and competitiveness of this refinery. We cannot simply return under the prior agreement and ignore those issues."
Chris DellaFranco, bp Whiting refinery manager
Transcription
Hello again. Chris DellaFranco here, the bp Whiting refinery Manager. Today, I want to provide an update on refinery operations, our ongoing labor negotiations, and address some misconceptions you are hearing publicly.
First, on refinery operations. Safety remains our top priority – the safety of our employees, our contractors, and the community. The refinery continues to operate safely, and in compliance with applicable regulations, and we do not expect impacts to our operations due to the work stoppage.
Second, to our union-represented employees, this is not where we want to be. I fully appreciate that this situation has real personal implications. Our focus is on reaching an agreement, so we can move forward, together, as a business.
Third, on negotiations. We’ve been ready and available to continue bargaining with the union since our last meeting on March 17th. Last week on April 1st, we formally reached out to the union expressing our interest in getting back to the table and highlighting a range of dates for potential meetings. On April 9th we received a response. The union ignored the dates we and offered and provided no substantive feedback on the current offer on the table.
The union’s position would have us return to work under the prior agreement without resolving the issues we have been bargaining over for months, including issues that matter to the long-term safety and competitiveness of this refinery. We cannot simply return under the prior agreement and ignore those issues. We remain committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement.
Finally, I want to address a couple of misconceptions that have been repeated publicly about what is being offered.
You may have heard that the refinery is eliminating 100 union jobs. That is not true. That number is roughly 65 employees. Now those employees impacted would receive a generous lump sum payment—in many cases equivalent up to a year’s salary. Those employees may also be eligible to join the local union third-party contractors who provide services for our site.
Our proposal is to shift selected work from bp employees to our third-party contractors that can provide better training and more efficiently deliver that work. These crafts are not core to our expertise, for example, scaffold building and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning services. Using a third party to execute these services is a common practice in industry and something we began discussions with the union going for almost a year.
Another inaccurate claim is that all job classifications are being asked to accept pay cuts. That also simply is not true. In fact, the base pay for our classifications are either increasing or remaining flat. Overall, our employees will see an average increase of 13% or $7 per hour over the next four years.
We are reducing pay premiums associated with work that we no longer require. For those impacted employees we are offering lump sum payments up to $10,000 to help offset the change.
Finally, we recognize there can be a lot of commentary and speculation. We encourage everyone who is looking for information on the status of the negotiations and refinery operations to rely on official updates. That’s why we created a Whiting negotiations update page at www.WhitingNegotiations.com, where you can sign up for email updates.
Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees, contractors, and the neighborhoods where we operate. I will continue to keep you informed as things progress.