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Phillips 66 locked 385 Teamsters out of the East Coast's largest refinery. Their firefighters are on the picket line.

Linden's mayor wants proof the Bayway refinery can still handle an emergency without its union fire brigade.

Phillips 66 locked 385 Teamsters out of the East Coast's largest refinery. Their firefighters are on the picket line.
Stock photo. Photo by Red Shuheart on Unsplash

Phillips 66 locked about 385 members of Teamsters Local 877 out of its Bayway Refinery and Linden Terminal in Linden, New Jersey, at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, when a temporary contract extension ran out, News 12 reported. Members had just voted down the company's latest offer. They have been picketing at the plant's gates since.

The company told Reuters it acted "in the absence of a further extension and to meet our commitment to safe and reliable operations," and that trained personnel will keep the refinery and terminal running. Bayway processes about 275,000 barrels of crude a day, according to Phillips 66's latest annual report, and Reuters calls it the largest refinery on the East Coast.

Locked out is not the same as on strike

In a strike, workers decide to stop working. In a lockout, the employer shuts the door on them to pressure the union into accepting its terms. Both are legal moves in a contract fight. The Supreme Court held in American Ship Building Co. v. NLRB (1965) that an employer does not violate the National Labor Relations Act by temporarily shutting out workers after bargaining reaches an impasse to push its position.

Bayway's workers never went on strike, though Local 877 members voted 92% to authorize one in late September, according to a Teamsters release. The union said they want higher wages, stronger benefits and reliable access to paid time off. It also objected to a 2025 attendance policy that allows discipline, up to firing, for absences due to illness, and to a company proposal that would replace the current 10-month probation period with one tied to qualification milestones that could take up to six years. Those descriptions of the company's proposals come from the union.

The contract expired Oct. 1. Phillips 66 told News 12 the two sides reached a tentative agreement during the extension, but members voted against ratifying it.

Who is minding the refinery

Phillips 66 said its replacement crew includes "supervisors, engineers and technical experts with many years of experience." Donald Susanen, a Phillips 66 vice president, said Wednesday that "the refinery remains fully staffed with no reduction in roles or responsibilities," and that there have been no operational problems or safety incidents.

The union sees it differently. "To me, running this refinery with a skeleton crew is a huge safety risk," Local 877 President Jeff Sanford told CBS New York. Sanford noted that locked-out members include the plant's fire brigade and oil spill responders.

Linden Mayor Derek Armstead asked Phillips 66 for a full briefing on emergency staffing and fire suppression. "The people of Linden deserve to know that their safety is not being compromised because of a labor dispute," he said in a Wednesday statement reported by News 12. He also urged the company to return to the bargaining table.

What it means at the pump

Sanford has warned the lockout could push up gas prices across the Northeast. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told New Jersey 101.5 he expects little effect, because refiners plan for labor disputes, though he allowed for minor problems while temporary crews learn the plant. Fuel prices are already elevated, and diesel has been squeezing paychecks for months. The lockout follows a seven-month lockout at BP's Whiting refinery in Indiana, Reuters noted.

What's next, and what locked-out workers can do

The two sides met Tuesday without a deal, and Sanford said talks would continue Wednesday morning. No agreement had been announced as of Thursday morning.

Locked-out Bayway workers should file for unemployment now. New Jersey's Department of Labor says workers whose employer prevented them from working should be able to collect benefits without a waiting period, as long as they meet the other eligibility rules. When filing, choose "Union Strike or Union Lockout by Employer" as the reason for separation and explain the dispute in the details box.

We condemn Phillips 66 for locking out the people who know this refinery best, including its own firefighters, to squeeze sick-leave and probation concessions out of them.

Sources

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