Union employees of Wyatt Inc., a major contractor at the Hovensa, remained locked out of the St. Croix refinery after negotiations Monday failed to close the gap between the company and its 154 employees who work for the United Steelworkers, a news release from Wyatt said.
Wyatt and the union have been negotiating a deal to replace the old contract, which expired Thursday. Wyatt’s employees on Thursday rejected a contract proposal that called for a two-year wage freeze.
Because Hovensa has a policy locking out contractors engaged in a labor dispute, Wyatt’s unionized workforce was not allowed into the refinery.
"Wyatt understands that Hovensa’s policy is in response to its safety concerns given the often volatile nature of labor disputes," the company said in a news release.
According to the news release, Wyatt officials tried to get back to the bargaining table on Friday but could not arrange a face-to-face session. It then tried to set up a phone conference but said it was again rebuffed.
A face-to-face bargaining session was arranged for Monday morning. At that time the union repeated its request for a 2-percent wage increase in each of the first two years of a new contract and reduced its demand in the third year from 4 percent to 3.75, according to Wyatt. The union also maintained its demand for increased benefits that Wyatt said would be the equivalent of an additional 3-percent increase to the contract.
Wyatt VI, Inc. has been a "turnaround contractor" at the refinery since 2001. The company boasts it offers employees the leading wages and benefits for any major contractor within the refinery.
"Quite simply, the current wage and benefit package offered by Wyatt VI is better than that of any of its major competitors," the company said. The company proposal calls for a 2.5-percent increase for the third year, a raise it said was identical to that of its leading competitor.
"Wyatt needs the freeze to remain competitive with the other major contractors at the refinery," the company’s news release said.
