BP Revises Contract Offer for Whiting Refinery Workers
BP updated its contract proposal for the Whiting refinery after union members overwhelmingly rejected a previous offer. The new terms remove retroactive pay.
BP has issued a revised contract proposal to unionized employees at its Whiting refinery in the United States. This move follows a decisive rejection of the previous offer by members of the United Steelworkers (USW), who overwhelmingly voted against the company's prior terms.
According to the USW, approximately 94% of union members participated in the vote on Thursday, with 98.3% voting against the proposal that the company had previously characterized as its last, best, and final offer. In response to the rejection, the company issued an employee bulletin explaining the adjustments to the new proposal.
"This revised offer isn’t about penalizing the Union or its members for rejecting the offer. It’s simply a reflection that certain incentives were contingent on reaching agreement by March 12, 2026."
The updated proposal includes several modifications. First-year wage increases, which were originally retroactive to February 1, 2026, will now only take effect starting from the first full pay period following ratification. Additionally, a $7,500 lump-sum payment has been reduced to $2,500, though the total range for lump-sum payments remains between $2,500 and $10,000. Unlike the previous version, this new offer does not carry a specific expiration date.
The union has expressed significant concerns regarding the terms proposed by the company throughout the two-month negotiation period. The USW alleges that the proposal involves stripping bargaining rights, limiting the ability to strike, and implementing base wage cuts across various job classifications. Furthermore, the union claims the proposal would eliminate or outsource 100 union positions and remove seniority protections during layoffs.
USW Local 7-1, representing roughly 800 workers at the Whiting facility—the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest—stated that its bargaining committee has communicated the results to the company. The union indicated it would give the company an opportunity to present a more serious proposal. Since the previous contract expired on January 31, employees have continued to work under rolling 24-hour extensions of the old agreement.
