Finance
BP revises whiting oil refinery contract offer after union members reject proposal
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 14, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 14, 2026
Quick Summary
BP revised its Whiting refinery contract offer after United Steelworkers members overwhelmingly rejected the previous “last, best and final” proposal, notably cutting retroactive wages and reducing lump-sum payments, now without an expiration date.
BP Revises Whiting Refinery Contract After Overwhelming Union Rejection
BP's Revised Contract Offer and Union Response
Background of the Contract Negotiations
March 13 (Reuters) - BP on Friday issued a revised contract offer to union workers at its Whiting, Indiana, oil refinery after members of the United Steelworkers overwhelmingly rejected what the company had described as its "last, best and final" proposal.
The USW stated that "an unprecedented 94% of union members voted Thursday and 98.3% voted not to accept BP's offer."
BP had presented the union with what it called its final offer last week, and said that it would expire in 10 days.
Details of the Revised Offer
"This revised offer isn't about penalizing the union or its members for rejecting the offer. It's simply a reflection that certain incentives were contingent on reaching agreement by March 12, 2026," BP said in an employee bulletin released after the vote on Friday.
Changes to Wage Increases and Lump-Sum Payments
Under the revised proposal, first-year wage increases would no longer be retroactive to February 1, 2026, instead taking effect from the first full pay period after ratification.
BP also reduced a $7,500 lump-sum payment to $2,500, bringing total lump-sum payments to a range of $2,500 to $10,000.
The company said the revised offer would not have an expiration date.
Union Leadership's Reaction
"More than 98% of our union members voted to reject British Petroleum's last offer, yet less than 24 hours later, the company's response is somehow even worse," said Eric Schultz, president of United Steelworkers Local 7-1.
"BP is obviously not serious about reaching a deal that doesn't include cutting jobs, reducing wages and eliminating bargaining rights," Schultz added.
Schultz said the union would continue to discuss the path forward.
Current Status and Next Steps
Since the contract expired on January 31, the union has been working under rolling 24-hour extensions of their previous agreement.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel and Will Dunham)
Key Takeaways
- •Union members at BP’s Whiting refinery rejected BP’s initial final offer by 98.3% of voters, following a 94% turnout (investing.com)
- •BP’s revised offer removes retroactive wage increases to February 1 and cuts the lump‑sum from $7,500 to $2,500 (total now $2,500–$10,000), and crucially drops any expiration date (investing.com)
- •The dispute follows USW’s broader national pattern agreement (15% wage increase over four years plus $2,500 bonus) which BP has stated Whiting is not bound by, escalating local tensions and risk of strike (whbl.com)
References
Frequently Asked Questions about BP revises Whiting oil refinery contract offer after union members reject proposal
1Why did BP revise its contract offer to Whiting refinery workers?
BP revised the contract offer after United Steelworkers union members overwhelmingly rejected the previous proposal by a vote of 98.3%.
2What changes did BP make in the revised contract offer?
BP removed retroactive first-year wage increases, reduced the lump-sum payment, and eliminated the expiration date on the revised offer.
3How did the union respond to BP's revised contract offer?
Union leaders criticized the new offer as being worse than the previous version and stated negotiations would continue.
4What was the voter turnout and rejection rate in the union vote?
94% of union members voted, and 98.3% voted not to accept BP's offer.
5What is the current contract status at BP's Whiting refinery?
Since the contract expired on January 31, the union has worked under rolling 24-hour extensions of the prior agreement.
