Refinery talks loom as BP shuns replacement workers

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP, which has worked to mend relations with unionized workers since a deadly refinery explosion, will not have replacement refinery workers on hand going into contract negotiations late this year, a company spokesman said.

If talks with the United Steelworkers union break down, leading to a nationwide work stoppage, BP plans on halting production at its four union-represented refineries in California, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas, said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo.

BP's fifth U.S. refinery in Washington state is not unionized.

"Our goal is to reach fair and balanced contract terms, but in that event (of a work stoppage) we'd put facilities in a safe standby mode and resume normal operations when an agreement was reached," Beaudo said.

BP's four U.S. refineries have a combined refining capacity of 1.274 million barrels per day (bpd) equal to 7.24 percent of national refining capacity.

U.S. refiners have been assembling replacement workers for more than a year in anticipation of the contract talks with the

USW.

The replacement workers, mostly retired managers, would run refinery units if employees walk off their jobs in a strike or are locked out of their workplaces by management should talks break down.