BP strike seen as victory for future generations

Hundreds attend a solidarity rally for striking BP Refinery workers in Whiting last month.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/bp-strike-seen-as-victory-for-future-generations/article_6367ee30-266c-5244-9f89-a270c24e788e.html

May 06, 2015 9:20 pm • Joseph S. Pete joseph.pete@nwi.com, (219) 933-3316

WHITING | Strikes aren't anything like they used to be in a more rough-and-tumble era.

Striking workers who picketed outside the BP Whiting Refinery for the last few months didn't swear, or march up and down the picket line. They didn't throw nails outside the gate, bust windows or park junk cars on the railroad tracks where oil tank cars exit before hurling the keys into nearby Lake Michigan.

United Steelworkers Local 7-1 members were however out on the picket line day and night to show they wouldn't back down. They made sacrifices like keeping the thermostats down during the winter, not going out to eat, and not taking their kids on outings.

The nearly three-month-long strike took a toll. Social service agencies were starting to step in to offer assistance, such as loans to help the 1,100 or so refinery workers to keep up on their mortgage payments and stave off foreclosure.

FULL story and more photos at link.