Houston — Marathon Petroleum’s contract with the union at its St. Paul Park refinery in Minnesota expired at midnight on Thursday without resolution, increasing the possibility of strike action, a union official said.
Nearly 200 refinery workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union voted in December to authorize a strike if they cannot reach an agreement on a new Marathon contract by the end of 2020.
The Teamsters object to Marathon’s proposal to replace a number of union jobs with non-union subcontractors at the 102,000 barrel per day refinery, said Scott Kroona, business agent at Teamsters Local 120.
The union is weighing its options but is open to further negotiations, Kroona said.
Marathon and the Teamsters have been in almost daily talks since November, union representatives said on a call with investors and media in December.
Marathon said its St. Paul Park refinery is continuing to produce transportation fuels as planned.
“Marathon Petroleum remains willing and available to negotiate with representatives from the Teamsters Local 120 as part of the collective bargaining process for a new contract,” a company spokesman said.
*Laura Sanicola; Editing: David Goodman – Reuters
