BP (BP) on Wednesday urged the United Steelworkers union to resume talks over a labor dispute at its Whiting refinery in Indiana, noting that it supports federal mediation to help resolve outstanding issues and reach an agreement that would allow employees to return to work.
The energy firm's Head of People Relations Americas Jordan Marcks called for a response on whether the union would participate in mediation through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
BP said the proposal followed a July 30 meeting convened by Indiana Governor Mike Braun's office in Indianapolis to discuss the negotiations.
During the meeting, the parties discussed using an FMCS mediator already assigned to the Whiting negotiations to accelerate progress toward a resolution, with BP agreeing to the proposal. BP said that the union had said it wanted to discuss the matter internally before responding.
Negotiations between BP and USW Local 7-1 last took place on June 16, and the company said no further meetings have been held since then despite its efforts to restart discussions.
"The company remains supportive of using FMCS mediation services to work through the remaining issues that separate us," Marcks said in the letter, adding that BP was committed to bargaining in good faith toward an agreement that supports employees, the community and the refinery's long-term future.
BP said both sides share the goal of getting union-represented employees back to work, arguing that reaching a new collective agreement was the route to achieving that objective.
The letter characterized the union's delays in scheduling further meetings and responding to the mediation proposal as unconstructive and inconsistent with efforts to resolve the negotiations.
The Whiting refinery is operated by BP Products North America.
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