Steelworkers ready to strike at Chevron California refinery

RICHMOND, California – More than 500 workers at a Chevron Corp. Refineries in the San Francisco Bay Area told the company they would strike on Monday at 12:01 p.m.

Members of United Steelworkers Local 5 voted in favor of the company’s latest contract offerings and announced the intention to strike, the union said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement said Chevron refused to return to the negotiating table.

Chevron said in a statement Sunday night that it had been negotiating with the union for months and believed the offered contract was fair and addressed union terms.

If the strike shuts down Richmond, California, refinery, it could crash gas supplies in the state, which has the highest regular gas price in the nation at $ 5,847 per gallon, according to AAA.

The union said in a statement that it had reached a sample agreement with the oil industry on February 25 on wages and working conditions. But about 200 negotiating units will also have to agree on local issues before contracts can be approved.

But Chevron argued that “the union’s requirements exceeded what the company believes to be reasonable and exceeded what was agreed as part of the national sample bargaining agreement.”

The old contract with Chevron in Richmond expired on February 1, and workers reported to their workplaces on a rolling 24-hour extension, the union said.

The company says operations in the refinery will continue and it does not expect any supply chain problems.

The San Ramon, California based Chevron says on its website that the refinery produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as lubricating oil.