In its latest update on union negotiations, BP announced that it’s seeking a six-year contract term and a 150-day notice before any United Steelworkers union strike or lockout.

“Extending the notice period from 24 hours to 150 days would provide stability and predictability for everyone at the refinery,” the online update said. “For our hourly employees, the 150-day strikes and lockout notice provides additional opportunity to reach a deal before anyone experiences the monetary impact of a work stoppage. For our salaried employees supporting the Business Continuity Plan (BCP), an extended industrial peace clause of 150 days would provide significant job stability, security, and predictability during the negotiation process.”

The establishment of a notice period would also allow BP to defer BCP preparations, according to the update, which would allow the company to better allocate resources. Every other union agreement with US Refining, Terminals and Pipelines has an extended industrial 80-plus day peace clause, according to BP.

The company is also seeking a six-year contract term, which would allow sufficient time to implement proposed operations, maintenance and lab job classifications, qualification- and competency-based job progressions, time to upskill current employees, and time to stand-up the supporting processes, according to BP.

“We firmly believe this extended stability is important for our employees and the business,” BP’s online update said. “An extended term would give our employees certainty in wage rates, benefits and working conditions over a longer period and would also reduce disruptions and help ensure industrial stability over the next six years. It would also create distance from broader industry negotiations, which serve as a distraction for the refinery.”

USW 7-1 President Eric Schultz reacted to BP’s negotiations update in a Thursday afternoon statement.

“(BP) continues to propose eliminating more than 100 local union jobs. They only recently offered to withdraw their proposal to transition over 100 more union jobs into management roles, but only if we agreed to their plan to cut wages across most job classifications, waive our bargaining rights and limit our ability to strike,” Schultz said in his statement. “They have proposed eliminating maintenance and environmental jobs, while also reducing headcount in the remaining crafts. This comes after they’ve already eliminated more than 300 union jobs in the last 10 years.

The wage increases they recently proposed would not offset their proposed wage cuts, so our members, understandably, have no interest in doing more work for less money than they make today. Many of BP’s current proposals follow similar union-busting playbooks that we’ve witnessed at other refineries. Our membership is making it clear that BP’s union-busting tactics are not going to work here in Northwest Indiana. We will continue to bargain in good faith, with hopes for a positive resolution, but our members have overwhelmingly encouraged us to go forward with preparations for a strike.”

USW announced on Feb. 5 that it was prepared for a strike or lockout at the BP Whiting refinery, citing its desire for a “fair agreement.” No update on a strike or lockout has been given since the announcement.

The company has held 42 documented bargaining sessions with the union since Jan. 5, according to a previous email from its spokesperson. The parties have also met in informal settings to discuss the proposals.

BP has also trained replacement workers, consisting of current and former employees, to operate the refinery safely and in compliance with regulations if a work stoppage occurs, according to a previous email.

On Jan. 5, BP and the union started negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, according to Post-Tribune archives. The previous agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. Jan. 31, and the two parties couldn’t reach an agreement by the deadline.

Both parties have since agreed to rolling 24-hour extensions of the agreement for Whiting refinery workers.

The union encouraged members to remove personal belongings from the workplace, schedule any medical, dental or vision appointments, refill prescriptions with 90-day supplies and postpone major purchases or financial obligations until an agreement is reached.

According to the BP website, if employees are absent from work because of a strike or lockout, they will not be eligible for employee benefits, adding that they can still receive benefits through alternative means, including COBRA.

On Feb. 6, the USW reached an agreement with Marathon for a four-year national pattern, which covers about 30,000 union oil workers for dozens of employers. Affected workers are represented through the USW National Oil Bargaining Program, and they work in more than 200 units that include refining, production, pipelines, maintenance storage, petrochemical and renewable facilities.

“BP maintains they have no plans to honor the National Oil Bargaining Program — the first time that has happened,” USW 7-1 President Eric Schultz said in a previous statement. “We’ve spent most of our negotiations discussing BP’s concessionary proposals that would eliminate local jobs, reduce pay across the board and strip us of bargaining rights. We will continue to negotiate in good faith.”

BP said in a Feb. 6 statement that the company “is, in no way, obligated to follow the ‘pattern’.”

“We will continue to bargain in the best interests of our employees, our company and the community,” the previous statement said.

Updates on negotiations from BP are available at whitingnegotiations.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/20/bp-seeking-six-year-union-contract-extended-strike-notice/