BEAUMONT, Texas — United Steelworkers union members are set to meet in late February to vote on a newly amended offer from ExxonMobil.
On Monday, Feb. 21, USW union members will meet at the IBEW Hall to vote on the latest offer from ExxonMobil, union spokesperson Bryan Gross said. Members are set to meet at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Officials with the energy giant provided members of union with a new offer on Feb. 11, 2022. Union officials reviewed it and have decided that members should evaluate it themselves and determine the next steps through a vote.
In the offer presented on Feb. 11, the power giant added the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to workers' calendars, updated the language to the union workmen’s committee, and separated job classification for different jobs.
Related: United Steelworkers union makes changes to proposal in hopes of ending lockout with ExxonMobil
Almost 600 union members have been locked out of the downtown facility since May 1, 2021. For months, the locked-out employees have picketed, protested, and gone without pay.
Union officials claim the fight for fairness and justice began long before the lockout started.
Union and Exxon officials have met more than 50 times to discuss offer proposals. In the union's latest proposal to the power giant, small changes were made to an already existing proposal.
Union officials hoped officials with Exxon would do the same on their end.
Gross said the local union spoke to Exxon representatives over the phone in late January, but no progress was made as far as negotiations go.
Union officials are still pursuing charges against the power giant with the National Labor Relations Board. They claim Exxon officials have been using serious unfair labor practices.
Many petitions have circulated to remove the United Steel Workers union from representing the locked-out workers. In early October of 2021, locked-out workers filed a petition to decertify the union.
A vote to decertify the USW union was impounded in late January as members of the NLRB looked into three separate claims of unfair labor practices. Board members stated that they needed to look into allegations filed by both employees looking to decertify the union and the USW union against ExxonMobil.
A count of the decertification votes cannot be conducted until all of the charges are thoroughly investigated. Gross does not believe the charges filed should affect any potential contract negotiations.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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