Refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions is laying off the majority of its unionized workforce yesterday and today, the union’s president said, ahead of an initial layoff deadline, Reuters reported. PES began dismissing a small number of union workers last Thursday, before an earlier-stated Aug. 25 termination date, as the company idles its fire-damaged refinery after filing for bankruptcy. Union employees are expected to be paid through Aug. 25, but the company has so far not offered severance pay or continued health benefits, sources have said. Roughly 280 of the facility’s 640 steelworkers were dismissed yesterday, said Ryan O’Callaghan, head of the refinery union, who works as an operator at the plant. O’Callaghan and a team of negotiators are currently bargaining with PES to retain a crew of union workers trained to run the plant’s wastewater system and conduct other work to safeguard the site while it is closed.
