31 union laborers who run the Coker Unit at the Tesoro Refinery in Wilmington, CA were laid off when Tesoro subcontracted the unit to Savage, a non-union contractor based in Utah. With the previous subcontractor, Marsulex, the union members of the Coker Unit had negotiated a good contract including 100% employer-paid-health insurance, pay raises, and extra vacation time. Marsulex had received mutiple prestigious Contractor Merit Safety Awards from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA). In May 2010, days after workers winning a great contract with Marsulex, Tesoro decided to replace Marsulex with Savage.

We spoke to a few of the men who had been let go, most of them from Carson and Wilmington. They believed that they would all be interviewed and re-hired by Savage but this was not the case, many of them were not even given interviews. Only 7 men were re-hired to train the new employees. Joe Juarez from Carson, who had been working for the Coker unit 6 years, spoke to us about his brother who had been working there 22 years and was laid-off without even being given an interview. These men were all highly skilled laborers, whose unit had held the Safety Record for the past 3 years. The men spoke to us about the complexity of their work, and how past fires and explosions have been caused by inexperienced employees. As residents of Wilmington, we should all be concerned about a whole unit being replaced by all new laborers, and what this means for our safety and health.

The new hires are all non-union and being bused in from Kern County. This goes directly against what the Tesoro Corporation states on their website, “we value the relationships we develop with our customers, the performance we deliver for our shareholders and the responsibility we hold for our communities.” In addition to laying off local employees, contracting Savage directly demonstrates that Tesoro is putting profits above safety and not upholding its commitment to the surrounding community.

Tesoro is also one of the main financial backers of Prop 23, which they are deceitfully calling, “The California Job Initiative”. Prop 23 will be on the November ballot, which seeks to kill AB-32, California’s Global Warming Solution Act. Implementing AB-32 will require refineries like Tesoro to invest in upgrading their facilitates to be more energy efficient, and be accountable to California’s progressive environmental laws. Oil refineries have one of the lowest rates in job creation, and after laying off award winning employees, how can we believe that passing Prop 23 will actually create more jobs.

The men who lost their jobs were given a small severance package, which only included two months of pay. We urge you to show your support for the union members by calling or writing Tesoro’s Marketing Representative Elias Reyna and ask that Tesoro support the safety and best interests of the community, by breaking their contract with Savage. You can also donate dry non-perishable foods to the families who are suffering their job loss at the ILWU Local 13 office at 630 S. Centre Street., San Pedro, CA 90731