Two states looking at Tesoro's and Marathon's strike plans
By Jarrett Renshaw
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tesoro Corp <TSO.N> and Marathon Petroleum Corp's <MPC.N> contingency plans to employ replacement workers at two of their refineries after union employees hit the picket lines are under scrutiny by inspectors in both Kentucky and California, officials of the two states said Wednesday.
Kentucky's Labor Department opened an investigation into Marathon’s Catlettsburg refinery after it received a compliance complaint on Monday, a day after union workers walked out, agency spokesman Daniel Lowry said.
Lowry said the investigation involves health and safety issues.
Marathon spokesman Brandon Daniels said the company is cooperating with the investigation, but said he had no further information.
In California, the state's Department of Industrial Relations had planned a routine inspection at Tesoro's Carson refinery before the strike, and decided to use the time to also check the qualifications of the replacement workers once the strike occurred, agency spokeswoman Julia Bernstein said Wednesday.
The state has not sent inspectors to Tesoro's other refinery, in Martinez, which was shut due to the strike, she said.
Tesoro did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The California refineries are among nine facilities represented by the USW where workers have hit the picket lines. Eight of the plants have remained operational with replacement workers.
The U.S. Department of Labor has an open investigation that dates back into Marathon's Galveston Bay facility, which is among the refineries where strikes have occurred, a department spokesman said. The investigation started on Dec 10, before the strikes and stems from a complaint regarding the recording of workplace injuries, the spokesman said.
Galveston Bay is the only Texas facility with an open investigation.
Officials in Washington, where workers have walked out at Tesoro's Anacortes refinery, did not respond to questions about whether the facility was visited by inspectors. Often, a complaint or an incident gets the attention of state and federal inspectors.
Since the walkout on Sunday, Tesoro's Carson refinery has reported two unexpected unit upsets to state regulators.
Further walkouts may be ordered at some of the other 63 refineries and chemical plants if advances are not made, the union has said. The walkouts are in support of a nationwide pact that would cover 30,000 workers and mark the industry's first big strike since 1980.
Lynne Hancock, spokeswoman for the USW, said the replacement workers lack the rigorous training that USW workers receive.
"They know the ins and outs of these facilities, and have years of training,” she said. "The people inside now don’t have that advantage.”
(This version of the story corrects paragraph five to say inspection was routine instead of planned due to strike.)
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Jessica Resnick-Ault, Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Adler)
