Over 250 United Steelworkers (USW) refinery workers, their families and members of the Boilermakers, Pipefitters, United Auto Workers and Carpenters unions descended upon Washington, D.C. on Feb. 15 for a “Lobby & Action Day” in support of the campaign to keep open the Sunoco and ConocoPhillips refineries in the Philadelphia area.

The participants attended a press briefing on Capitol Hill with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and members of the Pennsylvania and Delaware congressional delegations. Afterward, they split into two groups: One group lobbied members of the Northeast congressional delegation who had not previously been approached. The other group moved crosstown to chant and demonstrate on the sidewalks in front of the Washington offices of Sunoco and ConocoPhillips.

The members’ goals were simple: to get Congress to hold hearings investigating the Sunoco and ConocoPhillips refinery closures and to get Washington to take action to keep these facilities open.

Sunoco announced Sept. 6 that it would close its Marcus Hook, Pa., and Philadelphia refineries by July 2012 if a buyer was not found. Three weeks later, ConocoPhillips announced it was immediately idling its Trainer, Pa., refinery. In December, Sunoco announced it would idle the Marcus Hook plant sooner because of poor economic conditions. The ConocoPhillips refinery shut down in January and has a March 31 deadline to find a buyer. Marcus Hook is decommissioning and USW-represented workers are expected to be laid off Feb. 29. Only the Sunoco Philadelphia plant is operating.

USW Local 10-234 President Denis Stephano, who recently lost his job at the Trainer refinery after working there for 35 years, said about 230 workers, many with families, lost their jobs at his facility.

“It’s the younger people, the 30-year-old with two kids, who really have the toughest time with it,” he told the Associated Press at the news conference. “That’s the bigger issue here.”

Hearings Requested

Senator Casey announced Feb. 10 that he has called for a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to examine the possible negative effect the Philadelphia refinery closures will have on fuel prices in the Northeast.

At the Feb. 15 meeting he said many Pennsylvanians and Americans throughout the country could be adversely impacted by price hikes for home heating oil and transportation fuel. He also said the shutdowns could impact national security. That day he released a letter he wrote to incoming Sunoco CEO Brian MacDonald about the company needing to redouble its efforts to find a buyer for its refineries.

“They need to be more transparent about where they are on the sale and where they are in keeping your interest in mind,” Casey said to the union members at the press briefing.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (PA-07) announced at the meeting that the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, which he chairs, will be conducting a hearing soon on how the closure of the Philadelphia-area facilities and other nationwide refinery shutdowns could increase the risks to domestic critical infrastructure and threaten supply shortages in a time of global crisis. The Philadelphia closures will remove over 50 percent of the refining capacity in the Northeast.

“More than 30 U.S. refineries have closed in the last decade,” Meehan said in a press release from his office. “This hearing will help us understand the homeland security consequences of our declining domestic refining capacity, both in terms of threats to critical infrastructure and our dependence on imports from unstable parts of the world.”

Also speaking at the meeting were U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah (D-2nd PA); Allyson Schwartz (D-13th PA); John Carney (D-10th PA) and Robert Brady (D-1st PA).

Full USW Support

USW International Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the National Oil Bargaining program, acknowledged the rallying, marching, lobbying and writing of letters the Philadelphia refinery workers and members of other unions have done that brought them to the Feb. 15 day of action.

He said he has been meeting with potential buyers of the Philadelphia-area refineries and expressed hope that a buyer could be found. He said Valero’s Delaware City refinery was shut down for 10 months until it was sold.

USW International Vice President Fred Redmond spoke at the end of the meeting to say that he and Beevers were both present to represent USW International President Leo W. Gerard, who is solidly behind the campaign to keep USW refineries open. Gerard asked Redmond to affirm the USW will persist in seeking solutions in the Pennsylvania state house and before the U.S. government.

“The Philly refineries are not just a state problem, or a Northeast regional problem, but a national problem,” Redmond said.

District 10 Director John DeFazio, whose region is the state of Pennsylvania, spoke with the refinery workers at the meeting and participated in the interviews with the news media covering the event.