L-13 BM-ST John Clark, front row at left (dark jacket), stands with other lodge members at a press conference held at a U.S. Senate building. Boilermakers joined with Steelworkers, Steam Fitters, and legislators in making a case to keep refineries open in the Philadelphia area. Photo by Rick Reinhard.
Union activism helps keep closures in public eye
MEMBERS OF LOCAL 13 (Philadelphia) are hopeful about the future of several oil refineries that had been slated for closure last year. Sunoco’s Marcus Hook and Philadelphia refineries and Conoco’s Trainer facility — all reliable sources of maintenance work for generations of Boilermakers — recently faced permanent shutdowns due to unfavorable market conditions and millions of dollars in reported operating losses.
Two of those facilities — the Philadelphia and Trainer refineries — may survive, thanks to changes in ownership and operation.
Delta Airlines recently purchased the 185,000-barrel-per-day Trainer refinery to provide its own source of jet fuel. The airline plans to invest about $100 million to convert the plant for maximum jet fuel production and increase its daily output to about 200,000 barrels. The Building Trades and Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy have entered negotiations over a project labor agreement to perform the work.
Sunoco is in negotiations with private equity firm Carlyle Group to allow Carlyle to operate the Philadelphia facility, which is the oldest continuously-operating refinery in the world.
The future of the Marcus Hook refinery is less clear. The facility may be shuttered as a refinery and converted to a multipurpose industrial site. Nearly 600 jobs are expected to be lost.
BM-ST Clark, who like his father and grandfather before him has worked at the refineries, said Sunoco Philadelphia employs about 900 people. He said news of the planned refinery closures last year sparked an outcry from the Boilermakers, Steam Fitters, and Steelworkers. Community leaders and local, state, and federal politicians also raised the alarm.
“We participated in rallies and other activities to keep the closings in front of the public,” Clark said. “Bob Casey and Pat Meehan fought hard to prevent the refineries from shutting down.” Casey is a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, Meehan a U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania’s 7th District.
On February 15 of this year, more than 60 Local 13 members joined with other affected unions to attend a press conference and rally in the U.S. Capital to address the impact of closing the refineries. More than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs are associated with the three facilities, by some estimates.
Clark expressed hope that many of those jobs can be retained.
“Things looked really bleak last fall,” he said. “Now they are looking better.”
