Chevron, union sign tentative pact to end California refinery strike

(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Chevron (CVX) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The United Steelworkers union (USW) on Thursday afternoon signed a tentative agreement to end a nine-week-old strike at Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX)’s Richmond, California, refinery, the company and union said.

Terms were not immediately available for the tentative agreement, which is subject to ratification by members of USW Local 12-5 representing the 500 workers who walked off their jobs on March 21, the two sides said.

Workers will vote on the contract over the weekend, with results expected by 12:01 a.m. PDT (0701 GMT) on Monday, according to a joint statement for both sides provided by Chevron spokesperson Tyler Kruzich.

“If the agreement is ratified, those USW employees still on strike will return to work over the upcoming weeks,” the statement said.

A USW spokesperson was not immediately available.