BP and NIPSCO lockouts
Local reporting says more than 800 BP employees and 1,630 NIPSCO employees were locked out amid contract disputes, and the United Steelworkers have protested the NIPSCO action with cross‑union support. The stories highlight active labour disruptions in energy and utilities sectors this week. (chicagotribune.com, )
Two Indiana labor fights left more than 2,400 union workers off the job this month at BP’s Whiting refinery and Northern Indiana Public Service Company. (chicagotribune.com) BP locked out more than 800 United Steelworkers members at its Whiting refinery on March 19 after contract talks broke down, and the company said the lockout could end if the union accepts BP’s March 17 proposal. (chicago.suntimes.com, bp.com) Northern Indiana Public Service Company, known as NIPSCO, locked out about 1,600 United Steelworkers members on April 2 after extending the old contract through 4 p.m. Central time that day without reaching a new deal. (nipsco.com, indianapublicradio.org) Both disputes center on staffing, pay and control over work rules. At BP, the union said the company wants to cut more than 100 jobs and reduce pay in many positions, while BP said its current offer would directly affect about 65 jobs and give another 40 workers a voluntary option to leave or stay. (chicago.suntimes.com, bp.com) At NIPSCO, the utility said its final proposal included a 4% across-the-board wage increase over the life of the contract, with larger first-year gains for lineworkers and senior building mechanics and a $5,000 ratification bonus if signed by April 10. The union said it objected to wider use of outside contractors, limits tied to continuous work hours and a mandatory overtime acceptance rate. (nipsco.com, indianapublicradio.org) The companies say service and production are continuing during the lockouts. BP said trained employees are maintaining operations at the 440,000-barrel-a-day refinery, and NIPSCO said it is relying on nonrepresented employees, contractors and support from affiliated companies. (fox32chicago.com, indianapublicradio.org) The union says the lockouts raise safety concerns in both sectors. United Steelworkers President Roxanne Brown said BP was relying on replacement workers at a major refinery, and the union said NIPSCO’s action threatened worker safety and labor rights across northern Indiana. (usw.org, usw.org) The NIPSCO lockout has also drawn visible support from other unions. The Pharos-Tribune reported United Auto Workers members, teachers and operating engineers joined Steelworkers on the picket line in Logansport on April 10. (pharostribune.com) The Whiting refinery is the largest in the Midwest, and NIPSCO is a major gas and electric utility in northern Indiana, so both disputes reach beyond the bargaining table into fuel supply, utility service and household income in the region. (fox32chicago.com, nipsco.com) As of April 12, neither lockout had been publicly resolved, and both sides were still pressing their case in statements, on picket lines and through local elected officials. (bp.com, chicagotribune.com, pharostribune.com)
