North America's largest private-sector union, United Steelworkers Union (USW), urged its oil refinery workers to stage its first nationwide strike since 1980, the company declared on Sunday, after failing to strike a deal with Shell Oil over a new national contract.

The labor union said it asked about 3,800 workers at nine refineries across four states, producing some 10 percent of the country's fuel, to begin the walkout at 12:01am on Sunday, marking the minute their previous contracts expired and the deadline for the negotiations which began on January 21.

The move came after the USW rejected the fifth offer made by lead negotiator Shell on behalf of the National Oil Bargaining talks, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

“Shell refused to provide us with a counter-offer and left the bargaining table,” USW International President Leo W. Gerard said in a statement. “We had no choice but to give notice of a work stoppage.”

Union demands

USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock said the remaining USW-represented refineries and facilities would continue to operate "under a rolling 24-hour contract extension," until either side decided they had reached an impasse.

The union had asked for a three-year contract for its members, including sizable pay raises, cuts to out-of-pocket payments for health care, tighter regulations to prevent fatigue as well as hiring measures that favor union members over non-union contractors.

“The oil companies do not want to work with us to improve the workplace and safety at oil refineries and facilities,” said USW International Vice President of Administration, Tom Conway. “This industry is the richest in the world and can afford to make the changes we offered in bargaining."

“The problem is that oil companies are too greedy to make a positive change in the workplace and they continue to value production and profit over health and safety, workers and the community," he added.

Oil price squeeze

The demands come at a time, when oil companies are moving to cut costs and rein in spending in the face of plummeting crude prices.

Shell released a statement saying it would continue operations "in the normal course of business" at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery, adding that it had started strike contingency plans. It did not provide details of said plans.

It remains unclear when the strike could end, with both sides digging in their heels. The 1980 strike lasted three months.

“When the industry comes to its senses, we are more than willing to meet them at the bargaining table and negotiate a fair pattern agreement that will help everyone,” Conway said in the USW's statement.

Shell spokesman Ray Fisher had told Bloomberg that the company remained “committed to resolving our differences with USW at the negotiating table and hope to resume negotiations as early as possible.”

The USW represents some 30,000 workers at refineries, terminals, petrochemical plants and pipelines across the US, accounting for an estimated 64 percent of the country's oil production.

pad/hg (Reuters, AP)