-
Lee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and others, continued its strike Saturday morning. The workers went on strike at a minute past midnight Saturday over concerns about contracts.
Photo taken Saturday 2/21/15
Jake Daniels/The Enterprise
lessLee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the
... more
-
Troy Deriso warms his hands over a fire barrel as he and others man the strike outside the Motiva Enterprises plant in Port Arthur on Wednesday. Striking workers in Port Arthur maintained their picket lines throughout the chill of Wednesday night, pacing across several access roads to Motiva Enterprises.
Photo taken Wednesday 2/25/15
Jake Daniels/The Enterprise
lessTroy Deriso warms his hands over a fire barrel as he and others man the strike outside the Motiva Enterprises plant in Port Arthur on Wednesday. Striking workers in Port Arthur maintained their picket lines
... more
-
Striking workers hold signs as they gather near the entrance to the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and others, continued its strike Saturday morning. The workers went on strike at a minute past midnight Saturday over concerns about contracts.
Photo taken Saturday 2/21/15
Jake Daniels/The Enterprise
lessStriking workers hold signs as they gather near the entrance to the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical
... more
-
Melvin Head watches as fellow USW member Gary Beard cuts him a piece of boudin from their smoker while taking position outside the main gate as the strike continues at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday. Members of the local IBEW and ISW unions began their strike at midnight February 21 after failing to come to an agreement with the company on their contract renewal. At issue are two key components, successorship and retrogression. Workers say they have been receiving support from the community, who have stopped by to donate food and beverages to the picketing workers, as well as retired union workers who experienced past strikes.
Photo taken Monday, February 23, 2015
Kim Brent/The Enterprise
lessMelvin Head watches as fellow USW member Gary Beard cuts him a piece of boudin from their smoker while taking position outside the main gate as the strike continues at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday.
... more
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
Joshua Vell adds some wood on Wednesday to a large grill where many strikers have been preparing food. Striking workers have been walking picket lines outside the Motiva Enterprises facilities in Port Arthur for ten days now.
Photo taken Wednesday 3/4/15
Jake Daniels/The Enterprise
lessJoshua Vell adds some wood on Wednesday to a large grill where many strikers have been preparing food. Striking workers have been walking picket lines outside the Motiva Enterprises facilities in Port Arthur
... more
-
Scott Danks warms his hands by a fire pit as he and fellow union members, including Jim Sysk, strike outside the 7 Reservoir gate at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday. Members of the local IBEW and ISW unions began their strike at midnight February 21 after failing to come to an agreement with the company on their contract renewal. At issue are two key components, successorship and retrogression. Workers say they have been receiving support from the community, who have stopped by to donate food and beverages to the picketing workers, as well as retired union workers who experienced past strikes.
Photo taken Monday, February 23, 2015
Kim Brent/The Enterprise
lessScott Danks warms his hands by a fire pit as he and fellow union members, including Jim Sysk, strike outside the 7 Reservoir gate at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday. Members of the local IBEW and ISW
... more
-
Union members gather round a fire pit for warmth while taking their shift on strike outside the 7 Reservoir gate at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday. Members of the local IBEW and ISW unions began their strike at midnight February 21 after failing to come to an agreement with the company on their contract renewal. At issue are two key components, successorship and retrogression. Workers say they have been receiving support from the community, who have stopped by to donate food and beverages to the picketing workers, as well as retired union workers who experienced past strikes.
Photo taken Monday, February 23, 2015
Kim Brent/The Enterprise
lessUnion members gather round a fire pit for warmth while taking their shift on strike outside the 7 Reservoir gate at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur Monday. Members of the local IBEW and ISW unions began their
... more
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-9',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 9',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
Lee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and others, continued its strike Saturday morning. The workers went on strike at a minute past midnight Saturday over concerns about contracts.
Photo taken Saturday 2/21/15
Jake Daniels/The Enterprise
lessLee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the
... more
Motiva workers to return to work Monday
United Steelworkers members of the local 13-243 in Port Arthur unanimously approved Tuesday night the settlement between union and oil industry officially ending the strike at Motiva Enterprises.
The local USW counts about 800 members, said Jeff Wright, the vice chair of the workmen's committee at Motiva.
"The vote last night went great," he said Wednesday morning in a phone interview. "It was unanimously approved."
Workers will return to work Monday, he said, but Motiva will conduct orientation before workers take their post at the refinery.
Wright wasn't sure why Motiva wanted the orientation sessions. It could be to instruct the workers on the new changes, he said. Also, the refinery has a new plant manager and the orientation could be an opportunity for him to introduce himself to the workers, Wright said.
The union and the oil industry reached a tentative agreement last week to end the six-week strike the union authorized after rejecting seven proposed contracts by Shell Oil Co., which is representing the oil industry in the negotiations.
Shell owns 50 percent of Motiva Enterprises.
Union workers at the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur – the nation's largest refinery, processing more than 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day – walked out Feb. 21 at 12:01 a.m. because that's when the union's last contract with the company expired.
The last national oil contract expired on Feb. 1, which is when the first strikes began. The strike extended to 15 sites across the country.
MLibardi@BeaumontEnterprise.com
Twitter.com/ManuellaLibardi
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Union-takes-down-Motiva-pickets-return-to-work-6142309.php
Lee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and others, continued its strike Saturday morning. The workers went on strike at a minute past midnight Saturday over concerns about contracts. Photo taken Saturday 2/21/15 Jake Daniels/The Enterprise lessLee Medley, president of the USW Local 13-1, speaks to striking workers and supporters outside the Motiva plant in Port Arthur on Saturday. The United Steelworkers union, alongside supporters from the ... morePhoto: Jake Daniels
