The Brief
- About 800 workers at BP’s Whiting Refinery have been locked out of their jobs for 218 days, with another meeting between the company and the union scheduled for Monday.
- The dispute centers on a proposed contract that BP says would help keep the refinery competitive, while workers argue it would weaken their union and cost jobs.
- Now, a separate fight over unemployment benefits could add to the financial pressure on workers who have gone months without their regular paychecks.
WHITING, Ind. – For seven months, locked-out workers at BP’s Whiting Refinery have been fighting to get back to work.
Now, as their savings dwindle and the holidays approach, they’re facing another battle: a challenge to the unemployment benefits many have relied on to help make ends meet.
BP Refinery lockout
The backstory:
“We are not on strike. We have been locked out of our jobs. We have been trying to get back inside as long as we’ve been out here,” said Aaron Harris, a process operator who has worked at BP for eight years.…