Exxon Tries to Resolve a Dispute With a Worker’s Union Over a Texas Refinery Contract
Exxon Mobil Corp and the United Steelworkers union (USW) hope to break an increasingly bitter dispute over a Texas refinery contract this week by taking a different approach of sending one negotiator each to contract talks instead of a whole team, company and union officials said on Friday as reported by Reuters.
Exxon seven weeks ago locked out 650 union workers at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery and lubricants plant after failing to reach agreement on a new contract. On Thursday, negotiators met for only the second time since the lockout but failed to make any headway and stopped talks after about two hours.
Talks have turned fractious. The union has accused Exxon of trying to dissolve seniority provisions, colluding to break the union and falsely claiming the union’s seniority terms are unique.
