Headline News
Teamsters Ratify Strong Agreement at Minnesota Refinery
Teamsters Local 120 members have overwhelmingly approved a four-year agreement with Western Refining in St. Paul Park, Minn.
The agreement includes a 14 percent wage increase over the life of the contract, time off improvements and the addition of new jobs to address safety concerns, among other gains.
The operators and maintenance staff had voted unanimously, 148-0, to strike if a fair agreement could not be reached before the contract’s midnight expiration on New Year’s Eve.
On Dec. 29 the union hosted a conference call to update industry analysts and investors of both Western Refining and its acquiring company Tesoro on the status of contract negotiations and warn of a possible facility shutdown.
The St. Paul Park refinery produces up to 100,000 barrels of crude oil products daily, including gasoline and diesel fuel sold by Western’s own SuperAmerica gas and convenience store retail chain.