Steelworkers Take Oil-Industry Safety Issues to Shareholders

USW union activists present shareholder resolutions calling for increased disclosure on safety at several oil-industry shareholder meetings.  

SAN ANTONIO, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) are presenting shareholder resolutions at Marathon Oil, Valero, Tesoro, and ConocoPhillips, calling on the companies to improve disclosures on safety at oil refineries.  

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The resolutions, which were filed by the AFL-CIO Reserve Fund, call on the board of directors at each company to disclose the board's oversight of process safety management, staffing levels, and the inspection and maintenance of refineries and other equipment.  

A similar proposal was also filed at Sunoco, but was withdrawn when company officials agreed to comply with the request.

The Steelworkers say that increasing transparency in the industry is an important step in improving refinery safety.  

"If these companies had to tell their shareholders and the public how they were staffing their refineries, how much overtime people were working, and how long units were going without basic inspection and maintenance, we know that they'd try harder to fix the problems," said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union's National Oil Bargaining Program.  "We hope that by demanding this information we can force the industry to fix these problems before any more of our members die or are severely injured."  

Last year was a particularly deadly year in the oil sector.  In the months of April and May alone there were 13 fires, 19 deaths and 25 serious injuries in the oil industry.  One of the most deadly accidents was the April 2 explosion at a Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash., that killed seven workers.  A heat exchanger blew apart along cracks in welded areas. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) inspectors determined the company failed to correctly test the equipment for cracks.

L&I Director Judy Shurke told reporters at a press conference last year, "The bottom line is that this incident, this explosion and these deaths were preventable."  The agency imposed a record fine of $2.39 million.  Tesoro is appealing it.

Tesoro workers from across the country will be attending their company's annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, May 4 to present the shareholder resolution.  Mark Laurence, who works at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, will be presenting the resolution on behalf of the delegation.  

"Seven people died after the explosion at my refinery," Laurence said. "We hope that by taking our message to shareholders we can force our company to take a more serious approach to safety and fix the hazards in our refinery before anyone else dies."  

The USW represents 850,000 workers in industries including metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service sector.

Mark Laurence and other USW members who work at Tesoro will be available for interviews at the Tesoro shareholder meeting at 4 pm on Wednesday, May 4 at 19100 Ridgewood Parkway in San Antonio.  Telephone interviews are also available.  To arrange a telephone interview, please call Patrick Young at 412-298-6361.  

Contact: Patrick Young, USW Strategic Campaigns, c) 412-298-6361

Lynne Baker, USW Communications, o) 615-831-6782, c) 615-828-6169

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)