Lives > Profit

On March 19, 2026, the BP Whiting Refinery locked out 800+ USW members. The company and the union had been bargaining a new contract since January, but BP came to the table with 123 pages of concessionary proposals they claimed were necessary to cut costs and stay competitive.

The union bargained in good faith for a fair contract. BP did not. On March 2, the company delivered its Last, Best, and Final Offer—an attack on wages, bargaining rights, jobs, and worker protections. The membership answered with a resounding 98% NO vote on March 12.

Rather than respond with movement at the bargaining table, BP came back March 13 with an offer even worse than the first. The negotiating committee rejected it on March 17.

Two days later, BP responded with an illegal lockout of 800+ union workers.

Dave Tocco and I traveled to Whiting on March 30 to walk the line with our brothers and sisters. What we saw was solidarity. A local united, determined, and ready for a fight.

BP is trying to starve workers out and force them into desperation to win concessions. This is a company that made something like $7.5 billion last year and $57.9 billion in net income since the last contract with USW 7-1. Yet it still demands more.

That should tell every worker something. This is not just happening at BP. NIPSCO has now locked out over 1,600 of our members. The same corporate greed, the same pressure tactics, the same disregard for working people. And just like in Whiting, workers are standing strong. Many from our local have been on the line in Kokomo supporting the members of USW 12775, and it has been inspiring to witness. Remember, there may come a day when we need that same support.

Pay attention to what is happening.

Prepare now for our own negotiations in 2028. Put a few dollars away each week. Be ready financially and mentally. We are bargaining with a massive multinational corporation, and we should assume they are preparing already.

We should be too.

Because when corporations put profit over people, workers have only one answer: solidarity.

LIVES > PROFIT