Union Says Tosco Threatened Closure
Tosco Corp. had threatened to shut down a refinery near San Francisco if an oil workers union did not accept a contract calling for layoffs of nearly 20% of the union’s workers at three refineries that Tosco is buying from Unocal Corp., union leaders said Tuesday.
Negotiators for the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union Local 1-675, which had been threatening a strike, signed a tentative agreement late Monday with Tosco that calls for eliminating about 150 of the 900 jobs held by OCAW members at refineries in Los Angeles, Santa Maria and the San Francisco area, said Kelly Quinn, president of the union local. The union also agreed to a Tosco plan it had opposed that requires “cross training” equipment operators to do maintenance jobs.
However, the union gained in the area of medical contributions, officials said. Tosco had wanted members to pay 20% of medical expenses immediately; the new accord calls for contributions to be phased in, eventually reaching 20%.
Union members will vote on the proposed contract Thursday and Friday.
Stamford, Conn.-based Tosco is known for its ability to squeeze profit out of refineries it has purchased and for its tough tactics in doing so. Last year, Tosco closed a refinery in Pennsylvania until the union there agreed to job cuts.
A Tosco spokeswoman declined to discuss the specifics of the proposed contract but said she was not aware of plans to close any refineries.
“We are in the refining business because we choose to be,” said Linda Saltzman, a Tosco spokeswoman. “We intend to operate these refineries.”
Tosco is buying Unocal’s 76 Products Co., which is headquartered in Costa Mesa, including the three refineries, more than 1,100 gas stations and the familiar 76 brand name. The deal is scheduled to close Monday.
Meanwhile, a judge Tuesday refused a request by 29 Unocal service station owners to temporarily block the $1.8-billion sale. The station owners have sued on grounds that the sale violates antitrust laws.
The tentative labor agreement came during negotiations Monday at the Carson Hilton Inn after Tosco said it would close the refinery in the San Francisco area, said David Campbell, secretary-treasurer of OCAW Local 1-675. Tosco also said it would contract out maintenance at the remaining California refineries if the union didn’t accept the pact, he said.
“We felt like a gun was held to our head,” Campbell said. “They can impose a defeat on us, but we will get even someday.”
Tosco shares rose 25 cents to close at $29 on the NYSE.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
