Talks between Marathon Petroleum Corp and union workers at their St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery have stalled, with about 200 workers locked out following a 24-hour strike in January, the local Teamsters union said Monday, as reported by Reuters.
No talks have been scheduled after the latest talks last Monday, according to Scott Kroona, business manager of the Teamsters Local 120.
“We remain willing and available to meet with union representatives to discuss a new contract and are committed to reaching an agreement that is satisfactory to all parties,” said a Marathon spokesman.
The workers have been locked out since Jan. 22 following a 24-hour strike at the refinery.
Marathon said the refinery is being operated by “trained and qualified Marathon Petroleum personnel.” It does not anticipate supply disruptions in Minnesota or the Midwest region and expects to continue meeting customer commitments, it added.
Union carriers such as Barton Oil and Praxair and certain building trades are not crossing the picket line at the plant, and the refinery is running at lower-than-normal rates, Kroona said.
Teamsters representatives said they continued to oppose Marathon’s proposal to cut union positions at the refinery.
Reporting by Laura Sanicola; Editing by Richard Chang
