USW Local 7-1 President on the BP Whiting Refinery Lockout

Eric Schultz, President of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 in Whiting, Ind., joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to detail the British Petroleum lockout of more than 800 union members at the largest inland refinery in the country — a dispute he described as a textbook union-busting campaign dressed up as a contract negotiation.

After two months of what Schultz characterized as surface bargaining, BP locked out its hourly workforce following a 98.3 percent strike authorization vote, bringing in out-of-state replacement workers at more than $127 an hour while running the century-old facility significantly below capacity. Schultz outlined the company's proposals — which include gutting seniority rights, outsourcing more than 100 union jobs and forcing workers to waive bargaining rights over artificial intelligence — and made clear the membership is prepared for a long fight, backed by strong community support, USW International resources and a growing national campaign.

• BP's contract proposals would eliminate plant seniority rights, outsource the refinery's entire environmental technician department and four maintenance craft lines to a third-party contractor, and require workers to waive all collective bargaining rights over the implementation of artificial intelligence and employee tracking systems. These proposals would effectively eliminate meaningful union representation at the facility, Schultz said.
• The refinery, which typically processes around 460,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is currently operating between 300,000 and 390,000 barrels per day with replacement workers, Schultz said, representing a significant production shortfall at a time when geopolitical factors already constrain fuel supply. He also raised safety concerns about a facility more than 100 years old, operated by undertrained personnel.
• Schultz said BP recruited replacement workers from Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma at reported rates of $127 an hour, which is well above what union members earn. USW Local 7-1 has responded with picket lines, community rallies, a Washington lobbying trip, a presence at an industry conference in Houston and the direct involvement of USW General President Roxanne Brown.

BP Locks Out 800 Steelworkers at Indiana's Largest Inland Refinery

Eric Schultz has been president of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 for four years and has served on the union board since 2014. In that time, he has navigated his share of difficult contract cycles. During an appearance on America’s Work Force Union Podcast, Schultz said what British Petroleum has done at its largest inland refinery, located in Whiting, Ind., is a deliberate, premeditated effort to break the union entirely.

After two months of contract talks that Schultz characterized as surface bargaining with no genuine intent to reach an agreement, BP locked out more than 800 hourly union members. The action followed a 98.3 percent strike authorization vote, with 94 percent of eligible members voting during a 14- to 15-hour window. Schultz said the turnout and the margin sent a clear message to the company, but it has so far chosen to ignore it.

A Playbook Borrowed from ExxonMobil

Schultz was candid about where he believes this strategy originated. BP's Whiting facility is the only unionized refinery the company operates in the United States. Its lead negotiator was hired away from ExxonMobil following that company's prolonged lockout of USW members at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery — a dispute that began in 2019 and lasted 10 and a half months. Schultz said the Beaumont campaign followed a similar trajectory: ExxonMobil first maneuvered the local off the national oil bargaining pattern and into a six-year contract with an extended strike-and-lockout clause, then returned the next cycle with proposals designed to provoke a confrontation. The proposals BP has placed on the table in Whiting, he argued, follow the same design.

Those proposals include reclassifying every job at the refinery, inserting contract language granting the company unilateral authority to make any changes it deems necessary for efficiency and profitability and requiring workers to waive all collective bargaining rights regarding the use of artificial intelligence, overtime and employee tracking systems. Schultz said accepting those terms would leave the Local with a contract in name only.

Jobs Being Outsourced, Safety Being Compromised

Beyond the bargaining rights provisions, BP has proposed eliminating the refinery's entire USW environmental technician department and outsourcing that work to a third-party contractor—a move Schultz said would allow the company to shed direct responsibility for environmental compliance within the facility. Four maintenance craft lines are also targeted for elimination and outsourcing to Turner Industries, a general contractor firm based in Baton Rouge, La., that employs a mix of union and non-union workers. Initial proposals also called for converting board operator positions to salaried roles, which would have eliminated close to 100 union jobs, though BP has since backed off that proposal.

The safety implications of operating the refinery with replacement workers weigh heavily on Schultz. The Whiting facility is more than 100 years old. It combines legacy equipment with newer systems that have never performed as designed and requires experienced operators to manage the routine equipment failures that are an inherent part of refinery operations. Schultz said it is precisely in those moments — not during smooth operations — that the expertise of the locked-out workforce matters most. He expressed serious concern not only for the replacement workers inside the plant but also for the surrounding community, pointing to the BP Texas City refinery disaster and other historical incidents as evidence of what can go wrong when experienced personnel are removed from a complex, aging facility.

Replacement Workers at Double the Rate, Capacity Running Short

The economics of BP's actions, in Schultz's view, are telling. The company has been recruiting replacement workers from Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma — advertising positions at reported rates of $127 an hour, well above the wages of the locked-out union members. The job postings reference a six-month project, he said. The production numbers reflect the gap in operational capacity: the refinery typically runs approximately 460,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Under replacement workers, output has fluctuated between 300,000 and 390,000 barrels per day. That shortfall is occurring at a moment when fuel supply is already under pressure from geopolitical factors — a circumstance Schultz said makes BP's willingness to sustain the lockout even more difficult to justify on business grounds alone.

The refinery workforce is woven into the area's social life in ways that make the dispute particularly painful. Schultz described situations in which one member of a couple is locked out while the other, employed in a salaried role, continues to work inside the facility. Cousins, childhood friends and neighbors find themselves on opposite sides of a company-drawn line. Money that typically circulates through local restaurants, shops and businesses is now being earned by out-of-state replacement workers and sent back to their home communities, he added.

Community Rallies Around the Locked-Out Workers

That community, Schultz said, has responded with remarkable solidarity. Local businesses have placed support signs in their windows and delivered warm meals to the union hall multiple times a day so picketers have something to eat. Neighboring unions and residents have brought baked goods and shown up in person to walk the line. The Local has moved to a rotating skeleton crew model for picket duty, organizing periodic picket parties to turn out larger numbers when circumstances call for it, while keeping the ongoing operation manageable.

Spirits among the membership, Schultz said, are high, but he is aware of what a prolonged lockout against a company with BP's resources will require. The membership that showed up at 94 percent participation to reject the company's last, best and final offer by a 98.3 percent margin is prepared for the long haul, he believes.

The International Steps In

USW General President Roxanne Brown visited the Whiting picket lines, walked with members and held a press conference with Chicago-area media. The International Union's legal department and strategic campaigns department are both actively engaged. Schultz recently returned from a lobbying trip to Washington, where the Local met with members of Congress to present their account of the dispute and seek support. A delegation also traveled to an industry conference in Houston to raise awareness of BP's conduct within the broader oil sector.

Schultz said additional actions are in development, but he declined to detail them before they are finalized. Workers and supporters looking to follow the campaign, contribute financially or arrange to join the picket line can find information at supportoilworkers.com.

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