Celebrating a big win. Photo credit: Teamsters
On December 15th, Teamsters Local 283 (IBT 283) declared success in contract negotiations with Marathon, after a year of struggle and 101 days on strike. This important strike was almost completely ignored by the media. Visits to the picket line by Rashida Tlaib and Bernie Sanders garnered some coverage, but otherwise there was little substantive reporting about the vigorous and sustained campaign.
Workers’ primary complaints went beyond pay and benefits to focus on inadequate safety and training. Marathon, the largest refiner in the United States, long refused to come to the bargaining table and instead replaced the striking workers with scabs to keep the facility running. This extremely dangerous practice further enraged the strikers, who feared for the well-being of their neighbors.
The biggest contention of the union was what they saw as grossly negligent and unsafe policies imposed merely for the purpose of boosting already record-setting profits. Marathon had implemented a practice of frequently shifting workers around to different jobs to limit their seniority benefits, as well as reducing days off between grueling 12 hour shifts and slashing maintenance budgets. The temporary workers that were hired to break the strike had only one month of on-site training, much too little according to IBT 283, whose workers asserted that every refinery is unique and that even if the scabs came from other Marathon sites they needed much more experience to operate safely.
A press statement from IBT 283 included the following quotes. “Despite raking in billions in profits each year, Marathon Petroleum fought Teamsters for more than a year on a contract that rewards those who make them profitable,” said Steve Hicks, President of Local 283. “This strike forced Marathon to recognize and reward the Teamsters who make the Detroit refinery run safely and efficiently. We are grateful to have been able to secure a strong agreement for our members ahead of the holiday season and end this lengthy strike.” The new agreement includes a 24.5 percent wage increase over the life of the contract, health care coverage paid for solely by the employer, union security, and access to the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. “Throughout this fight, Marathon workers embodied what it truly means to be Teamsters,” said Rocco Calo, Director of the Teamsters Industrial Trades Division. “These men and women stood shoulder to shoulder, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through inclement weather and demanded their employer negotiate an industry-leading contract.”
As advocates for environmental justice, everyone at JTA hopes to one day see this polluting refinery shuttered entirely. It processes diluted bitumen, or “dilbit,” the very dirty petroleum-like product that comes out of the tar sands mines in Alberta. By now it is well-known that this extreme extraction project is one of the most highly-polluting operations on the planet, with mine sites that can be seen from space and a shockingly low efficiency rate (it is estimated that only 3-5 units of energy are produced for every 1 unit of energy required in the extraction process). The dilbit is transported via high-volume pipelines that pose an enormous risk to the Great Lakes watershed, which contains 84% of the surface freshwater in North America. Clearly, this refinery’s operations are a threat to millions of people and countless ecosystems.
It is even more dangerous to the nearby community. Southwest Detroit contains the most polluted zip code in Michigan, with very high rates of asthma and cancer in a mostly black and brown community. Marathon claims that the emissions from their refinery comprise only a tiny fraction of the pollution in this densely industrialized area, but they have been fined for 13 major violations since 2013. It is well-understood by local residents that this bad neighbor is a leading contributor to the adverse health impacts they face. In September, despite protests from locals, the company was granted new permits to increase production, and pollution.
Marathon has a bad reputation not only in Michigan, but all across the nation. In 2019, a Marathon refinery in Martinez, California was abruptly closed after being fined over $27 million due to failure to meet pollution limits (it has since reopened as a “renewables refinery” producing biofuels). In 2020, a Marathon refinery in Los Angeles exploded and released toxic gasses that put more than 180,000 people at risk. In 2023, a terrible fire at their refinery in Cancer Alley, Louisiana caused major health dangers to residents, but was swiftly covered up – another story that received woefully little reporting. In 2024, they reached a $241 million settlement with the federal government for violations in their oil and gas fields in North Dakota.
We demand that fossil fuel extraction must end. But at the same time, we support the workers of IBT 283 and we applaud their efforts to not only protect their good-paying jobs but also the health and safety of fenceline communities. Beyond the basic respect and dignity that is owed to them by Marathon executives, workers should have decision-making power in the future of their industry. Now that they have won more control of their workplace, the Teamsters should see this as one of many steps in a long-term vision of a just transition. Refineries like this one need to move toward a progressive phase-out and clean-up, while also investing in retraining workers so that they can continue to provide for their families as the extractive economy transitions to something more sane, healthy and regenerative. The fossil fuel industry’s ill-gotten wealth should be utilized to build out renewable energy and local zero waste economies. As a major recipient of government funding and subsidies and one of the most powerful and profitable corporations in the world, Marathon must be compelled to take responsibility for progress toward a just transition.