USW Local 10-234 Fights Demolition of ConocoPhillips Trainer, Pa., Refinery

Contact:
Denis Stephano, 610-485-2413, c) 484-716-6242, DJStephano1210@aol.com
Lynne Hancock, c) 615-828-6169, lhancock@usw.org

Trainer, Pa.—United Steelworkers Local 10-234 President Denis Stephano announced today that the plant manager at the ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, Pa., told union officials on Jan. 5 that if a serious buyer is not identified or the refinery is not sold by March 31, the facility will be demolished.

“This is the first time the company gave us this information,” Stephano said. “Our plant manager, Dave Erfert, also informed us that for the past 18 months he had been on a committee to determine the fate of the refinery and many options had been explored, including idling, closure and demolition.

“ConocoPhillips sends Mr. Erfert to attend the stakeholder meetings with union, community and elected officials. Why didn’t he notify the stakeholders months ago that demolition was one of the options the company was considering?” Stephano asked.

USW staff representative Carl Jones and Local 10-234 workers’ committee chair Diane Heller attended the Jan. 5 meeting with Erfert and Mike Welsh, ConocoPhillips human resources senior advisor for industrial relations.

“Mr. Erfert previously told union officials and members to not worry, that Trainer would be okay,” Stephano said.

Since hearing the announcement, Stephano said he has been contacting elected officials’ offices, including that of Governor Tom Corbett, to let them know about the demolition.

The Trainer refinery employs about 600 workers and contractors. USW Local 10-234 represents 234 of the employees.

Background about the closure of the Trainer facility and Sunoco’s Marcus Hook and Philadelphia refineries can be found HERE.

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and has 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in pulp, paper and packaging, metals, rubber, chemicals, oil refining, atomic energy, government and the service sector.

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