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By ROBERT SHARP Mf Winter Golden Triangle labor officials were keeping close watch today, as the resumed talks between Local 423 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers and the Port Arthur manage ment of Gulf Oil Corp. entered their third day. Both sides met briefly Tuesday, and agreed to meet again today, but out side of the fact that negotiations are continuing, there is little to report, ac cording to sources on both sides. “‘Nothing’s really changed,’ reported Greg Bryant, a negotiator with Local 423 of the OCAW. ‘‘We’re still communicating, and when that happens, you're optimistic,” he add ed. Jim Gatten, a spokesman for Gulf Oil, had no comment on the second day of the resumed talks. Tuesday, however, Gatten said that the negotiators for the company were in formed by the union representatives that the OCAW position has not chang ed on major issues. Officials of other OCAW locals in the Golden Triangle indicated the Gulf Oil talks are being watched closely, because they are the only ones scheduled here, and because Gulf has been a pattern-setter in the past in the settling of labor disputes. A national spokesman for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said today that there are no talks scheduled between the national management of Gulf and the OCAW. Negotiations between those two par ties, with the assistance of the FMCS, were held just before and after the strike began Jan. 8, but they produced no substantial progress, according to spokesmen for both sides. The head of the FMCS, Wayne Horovitz, is in frequent contact with both sides, but there are no formal negotiations in the offing, according to a spokesman. In a related matter, a spokesman for Texaco said today the company had no comment on the petition filed for a temporary restraining order fil ed in Beaumont Tuesday. The petition alleges that Texaco and others acting on behalf of the company have harassed union members on the picket line. The strike began Jan. 8, after local and national negotiations failed to produce an agreement. Under the terms of the present OCAW contract with the oil com panies, the union has reopened discus sion on three issues: Wages, health in surance and vacation benefits. The union has indicated its desire to obtain fully paid health insurance, and then discuss wages and vaca tions. The oil industry has offered a 9 per cent wage increase, and a $10 in crease in company contributions to employee health plans. Union officials have commented that the companies’ offers are ‘‘in complete and inadequate.”’ Presently, a typical oil refinery employee pays around $40 per month for health insurance, while the com pany contributes $80. The strike has affected about 15,000 members of the OCAW in the Golden Triangle, and about 60,000 members nationally. Affected companies in the Golden Triangle include Gulf Oil, Mobil, Tex aco, American Petrofina, Neches Butane, Firestone, Jefferson Chemical and BFGoodrich. Spokesmen for Texaco and Gulf to day said the refineries are operating at normal levels, staffed by super visory and technical personnel.
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Wed, Jan 23, 1980
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kent S.
USA 26 Jun 2026
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