Workers fret as Delta looks to sell stake in Trainer refinery
TRAINER » As reports surfaced that Delta Air Lines is looking for a partner for its Delaware County refinery, workers at the plant are concerned about how committed the company is to the facility.
In 2012, Delta Air Lines purchased the refinery for $150 million after ConocoPhillips had closed the plant earlier that year. Hundreds of employees were out of work in a scenario union members don’t want to repeat.
According to a Reuters report, Delta officials have hired Barclays and Jefferies to oversee the offering to vet a potential partner to share in the Monroe Energy refinery operations.
Jonas Dauber, president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 10-234, voiced his concern for the 200-plus union members he represents at the Trainer refinery. “Because of what we went through before, we’re just concerned about the commitment,” Dauber said. “Even though it’s been six years, it feels like we just got back to work.
“We have no other choice but to believe them right now,” he said.
Dauber said union officials had no inkling of the news until Jeff Warmann, president and CEO of Monroe Energy, called them into a meeting 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The union leader said they were told that the company is looking for a partner that can add capital and that they were not interested in the gasoline side.
He said, however, Delta wants to retain their rights for the jet fuel and they want to be able to dictate the rate.
“They tell us over and over that Delta is committed to running the refinery,” Dauber said. “That’s good news to hear.”
He simply remains concerned as the situation was similar when the former company shut it down.
“The time’s the same with the turnaround coming up, negotiations coming up,” he said. The turnaround is a period of maintenance completed every few years in which large parts of the refinery are temporarily shut down.
Negotiations are scheduled to start in February, he said.
Dauber said company representatives told them they hope to know more by the end of the year.
In the interim, he said, “(We) just wait and see how it goes and try to keep everybody upbeat in the meantime.”
Monroe Energy representatives referred calls to Delta Air Lines and attempts to reach officials there Thursday were unsuccessful.