The United Steelworkers union (USW) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which serves as lead company for National Oil Bargaining negotiations, have agreed to return to the bargaining table in an attempt to resolve USW’s more than 5-week-long unfair labor practice strike in effect at US refineries and associated installations (OGJ Online, Feb. 2, 2015).
After an extended period of halted discussions between the parties, Shell and USW decided at a Mar. 4 meeting to resume the negotiation process during the week beginning Mar. 9, Shell said.
The announcement comes just days after Shell revealed its plan to return the company’s strike-impacted sites to normal, full-rotation operations with the use of Shell-trained employees and without the use of union workers (OGJ Online, Mar. 3, 2015).
While Shell expressed hopes of reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement with USW upon renewed negotiations, the company also said it will continue to run its business, which includes the long-term goal of maintaining safe, reliable operations, with or without a union workforce, for as long as necessary.
Since negotiations began with USW following the Feb. 1 call to strike, Shell has put seven offers on the table, all of which have been rejected (OGJ Online, Feb. 23, 2015).
To date, USW has called its members to strike at a total of 15 US refineries and associated production sites operated by Shell, Motiva Enterprises, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum Corp., Tesoro Corp., and BP PLC.
