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US Oil Workers Strike: Work Fatalities 7x More Than Other Industries Combined (Picture)
Workers at nine American refinery and chemical plants walked off the job on February 1, marking their first nationwide oil strike in 35 years. By Sunday, the strikes expanded to include more than 5,000 workers at 11 refineries, who are demanding better wages, benefits, and work conditions.
Like most strikes, the workers, represented by United Steelworkers, are asking for a raise. They also want to be safer on the job.
The union accuses oil companies like Shell and BP of keeping operations too lean while oil prices are low, hiring inexperienced non-union operators, and overworking staff. “We’re concerned about the excessive overtime,” said Lynne Hancock, a spokesperson for United Steelworkers. “In a lot of locations the workers have mandatory overtime. And when people are working non-stop, they get tired and fatigued. And when you are fatigued, you have a tendency to make some mistakes.” The rapid expansion of the oil industry has driven up deaths in other parts of the business beyond refining, like extraction. Between 2003-2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported 823 oil and gas extraction workers died on the job, or seven times worse than the rate for all U.S. industries combined. MOREHERE
