BP locks out more than 800 union workers at Whiting refinery as contract talks collapse

BP locked out more than 800 unionised workers from its Whiting, Indiana, refinery at midnight on Thursday, 19 March 2026, after contract negotiations with the United Steelworkers Local 7-1 broke down following months of talks. The Whiting refinery, the largest inland refinery in the United States, processes approximately 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel that supply fuel markets across the Midwest.

The lockout took effect after the company notified United Steelworkers Local 7-1 that it was cancelling a 24-hour rolling contract extension that had kept the Whiting facility operating since the previous three-year collective bargaining agreement expired on 31 January 2026. BP issued the lockout notice on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, giving the union advance notice before operations were formally transferred to non-union personnel at midnight on Thursday.

United Steelworkers Local 7-1 president Eric Schultz said the union had presented BP with a revised offer on Tuesday that accepted several of the company’s proposals, only for BP to reject that offer within four hours and issue the lockout notice. Schultz said BP continued to demand cuts to more than 100 jobs, pay reductions across nearly all positions, and the removal of collective bargaining rights. He characterised the company’s position as unacceptable and said the union remained prepared to fight for a fair agreement that protects local jobs, wages and member rights.

BP said in a statement that the decision to initiate the lockout was not made lightly and came after months of negotiations and extensive consideration. The company said the United Steelworkers had not meaningfully engaged with contract proposals that BP considers critical to the long-term sustainability of the Whiting refinery. BP said the union had rejected its proposals twice without offering a counter-proposal that addressed the company’s core concerns.

BP Whiting Refinery Manager Chris DellaFranco said on Wednesday that the company had provided a revised comprehensive proposal and notified the United Steelworkers bargaining committee. DellaFranco said the lockout would end if the union accepted the company’s 17 March 2026 proposal. BP said it does not expect disruptions to refinery operations or production and that the facility is being operated safely and in compliance with applicable regulations by trained salaried employees, engineers and managers. The company said approximately 450 non-union employees were on site and that around 100 contractors were providing maintenance support.

What are the specific contract demands that led to the BP Whiting refinery lockout in Indiana?

The United Steelworkers Local 7-1 said BP’s proposals included the elimination or outsourcing of more than 100 union jobs across operations, maintenance and environmental safety divisions. The union said BP also sought hourly wage reductions of between eight and ten dollars across nearly all job classifications, the removal of collective bargaining rights, limits on the union’s ability to strike, the elimination of seniority protections governing layoffs, and the implementation of artificial intelligence systems at the refinery without job protections for affected workers.

BP sought a six-year collective bargaining agreement, which would be twice the length of the previous three-year contract. The company said the proposed terms, including restructuring of maintenance work to specialised contractors, are common practice across the refinery industry and are necessary to advance safety, improve efficiency and maintain the long-term competitiveness of the Whiting facility.

A revised BP offer circulated on 13 March 2026 reduced a proposed lump-sum signing payment from 7,500 dollars to 2,500 dollars, with the range of individual lump sums set between 2,500 and 10,000 dollars. A company spokesperson confirmed that while BP’s original proposal included the potential elimination of 200 union positions with 100 of those roles to be transferred to salaried BP employees, the company had since withdrawn the proposal to transfer the 100 roles to salaried staff following earlier negotiations with the union.

The union voted on BP’s contract offer in mid-March 2026 with a reported turnout of 94 percent of members, of whom 98.3 percent rejected what BP had characterised as its last, best and final offer. United Steelworkers Local 7-1 subsequently declared a strike shortly after the lockout took effect at midnight on 19 March 2026, with union members beginning to picket outside the Whiting facility. Union member Paul Skalka said workers did not want the lockout but had found the company’s concession demands unacceptable.

How is BP keeping the Whiting refinery operating during the United Steelworkers lockout in 2026?

BP said it prepared for the lockout by training replacement workers drawn from current and former non-union employees to operate the Whiting refinery safely and in compliance with regulatory requirements. The company said approximately 450 non-union employees were on site as of 19 March 2026, supported by roughly 100 mechanical contractors handling maintenance functions. BP said it does not anticipate impacts to refinery output and stated that fuels would continue to be priced competitively.

Steve Patterson of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 said the union had no information about how the refinery was staffing or operating, or at what production capacity, following the lockout. Access cards for some union maintenance workers were deactivated as early as Wednesday morning ahead of the midnight lockout deadline. BP said most employee benefits would be inactive during the lockout period, though the company indicated it would continue to provide healthcare coverage for affected workers.

Why does the BP Whiting refinery lockout matter for Midwest fuel markets and regional energy supply?

The Whiting refinery is the largest inland refinery in the United States and serves as a critical supply hub for transportation fuels across the Midwest. Any disruption to output at a facility of this scale carries the potential to affect gasoline, diesel and jet fuel availability and pricing across a broad geographic region. The lockout is occurring at a time of already elevated gasoline prices in the United States, with Illinois average retail gasoline prices reaching 4.05 dollars per gallon for regular fuel as of 19 March 2026, representing a 35.8 percent increase compared to one month earlier, according to data from AAA. The Chicago metropolitan area average price reached 4.18 dollars per gallon, up from 3.09 dollars per gallon the prior month.

Multiple reports noted that the labour dispute at the Whiting refinery is unfolding against a backdrop of tighter global energy markets following military operations involving the United States and Israel directed at Iran that began the previous month. BP said it does not expect production disruptions and that the company will monitor and respond to fuel price conditions during the lockout period.

What is the bargaining history between BP and United Steelworkers Local 7-1 at the Whiting refinery before the 2026 lockout?

The previous collective bargaining agreement between BP and United Steelworkers Local 7-1 was a three-year contract that expired on 31 January 2026. Following the expiration, the two parties continued negotiations while operating the refinery under rolling 24-hour contract extensions. BP said it had reached tentative agreement with the union on a number of items, but that on 25 February 2026 the union regressed to several of its original proposals from the start of negotiations in January. The company said that since that date the union had made little or no movement on key proposals.

BP said the refinery had been operating in a continued state of labour uncertainty since 1 February 2026, including exposure to the risk of a strike with as little as 24 hours’ notice. The company characterised this environment as creating unacceptable operational risk and said the lockout was intended to allow a safe and orderly transfer of refinery operations to trained non-union personnel. United Steelworkers Local 7-1 president Eric Schultz said the union did everything it could to avoid the lockout but that BP was ultimately not willing to reach an agreement.

The most recent prior labour stoppage at the Whiting refinery was a strike in 2015 that lasted 101 days, according to reporting by WGN Television. Union members said they hoped the current dispute would not extend to a comparable duration. Schultz said the lockout could last weeks based on the current state of negotiations. BP said it remained willing to continue negotiating with United Steelworkers representatives and rejected any characterisation of the lockout as unjustified.

How does the BP Whiting refinery labour dispute fit into broader United Steelworkers contract negotiations across the US oil industry?

The Whiting dispute is taking place separately from the broader national pattern bargaining process conducted by the United Steelworkers under the National Oil Bargaining Program, which governs contract negotiations across multiple major US refineries. The previous national pattern agreement for oil refinery workers expired and a replacement deal was separately announced, covering wage increases spread over four years under that national framework.

BP’s insistence on a six-year standalone agreement at Whiting, rather than aligning with a shorter national pattern timeline, became a significant point of contention. A longer contract duration at the Whiting facility would remove it from the national bargaining cycle for an extended period, a development that union representatives said has implications for pattern bargaining across the broader US refinery sector. BP has not publicly commented on how the Whiting negotiations relate to industry-wide bargaining patterns.

The introduction of artificial intelligence systems without accompanying job protections was cited by the United Steelworkers as a notable element of BP’s proposals at Whiting. WGN Television reported that the union said BP also sought to install artificial intelligence surveillance systems at the refinery. The inclusion of automation and artificial intelligence provisions in the disputed contract terms reflects a broader labour negotiating challenge across industrial workplaces where employers are seeking flexibility to deploy new technologies.

Key takeaways: BP Whiting refinery lockout and what it means for labour relations and Midwest energy supply

• BP locked out more than 800 United Steelworkers Local 7-1 members from the Whiting, Indiana, refinery at midnight on 19 March 2026 after the union rejected the company’s contract offer, which included demands for job cuts, wage reductions across nearly all positions, and the removal of collective bargaining rights.
• The Whiting refinery processes approximately 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is the largest inland refinery in the United States; BP said it does not expect disruptions to production and has deployed trained non-union employees and contractors to maintain operations.
• BP’s proposed six-year contract term, the inclusion of artificial intelligence deployment provisions without worker protections, and the outsourcing of maintenance roles to contractors were identified by United Steelworkers Local 7-1 as central points of dispute alongside proposed wage and job cuts.
• The lockout is occurring against a backdrop of sharply rising gasoline prices in the Midwest and tighter global energy markets, raising the potential impact of any sustained operational disruption at the Whiting facility on regional fuel supply.
• BP said the lockout will end if the United Steelworkers Local 7-1 accepts the company’s 17 March 2026 comprehensive proposal; both sides have indicated they remain open to further negotiations.