Employers
Phillips 66 has locked out union workers at its Bayway Refinery and Linden Terminal in Linden, New Jersey, after a short-term contract extension expired at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. Teamsters Local 877 said in a social media post that about 385 workers were locked out after members rejected the company’s latest contract offer, Reuters reported. Local outlets, including CBS New York and News 12, put the number at nearly 400.
A lockout is not a layoff or a plant closure. The workers remain employees under a lapsed agreement, the company says the refinery and terminal are still running, and the two sides were back at the bargaining table on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
How the dispute reached a lockout
The collective bargaining agreement covering Bayway and the Linden terminal expired Oct. 1, according to Reuters. The two sides agreed to a temporary extension, but union members voted down the company’s latest proposal, and the extension ran out Monday afternoon.
In a statement Tuesday, Phillips 66 said it locked out the union-represented employees “in the absence of a further contract extension, and to meet its commitment to safe and reliable operations.” The company said it will keep the refinery and terminal operating with trained personnel to meet market demand. CBS New York reported that the facilities are being staffed by supervisors and engineers, and News 12 reported that Phillips 66 described its replacement staff as supervisors, engineers and technical experts with many years of experience. A Bayway spokesperson told News 12 the company was “disappointed by this development.”
What the union says is at stake
Local 877 said the rejected proposal included concessions on wages, health care and safety protections, according to Reuters. Union President Jeff Sanford told News 12 that members are seeking changes to the attendance policy, a bigger share of company profits and better work schedules. “The members want their slice of the pie,” he said. Sanford said some workers face stretches of 13 days and 13 nights on before getting a day off. Employees told CBS New York they want sick days that the company cut to be reinstated.
The union has also raised safety concerns about running the plant without its members. Sanford told News 12 that locked-out workers fill emergency-response roles, including an oil response team and several fire brigades. “All of those brigade team members are now outside the refinery unfortunately,” he said. He told CBS New York that operating with a skeleton crew is a “huge safety risk.” Phillips 66 told News 12 it plans to maintain safe operations with properly trained staff.
Dozens of workers picketed outside the gates Monday and Tuesday, and at times blocked trucks from entering, CBS New York reported. Members planned to picket around the clock at the refinery’s gates, according to News 12. Negotiators returned to the table Tuesday afternoon, and a Teamsters representative expressed cautious optimism to CBS New York that a deal could come soon. No agreement had been reported as of Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Why the site matters
Bayway is the largest refinery on the U.S. East Coast, with capacity to process about 275,000 barrels of crude oil a day, according to Reuters, and it produces a large share of the region’s gasoline and diesel. CBS New York reported that it also supplies jet fuel to Newark Liberty International Airport. Workers told CBS that fuel reserves exist but that a prolonged lockout could affect regional prices.
The dispute follows a seven-month lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery, the largest in the Midwest, Reuters noted. At Bayway, the open issues named so far are wages, health care, attendance rules, schedules, profit-sharing and safety staffing. Until a new agreement is reached or the company lifts the lockout, the roughly 385 union employees cannot return to their jobs.
Sources
- Reuters via BOE Report, “Phillips 66 locks out union workers at New Jersey refinery after contract expires,” October 20, 2026. https://boereport.com/2026/10/20/phillips-66-locks-out-union-workers-at-new-jersey-refinery-after-contract-expires/
- CBS New York, “Union employees locked out of New Jersey oil refinery after contracts expire,” October 20, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/phillips-66-bayway-refinery-linden-terminal-nj-employees-locked-out/
- News 12, “Nearly 400 union-represented employees of Linden refinery locked out as contracts expire,” October 19, 2026. https://westchester.news12.com/union-represented-employees-of-linden-refinery-locked-out-as-contracts-expire
Featured photo: Aerial view of the Bayway Refinery in Linden, New Jersey, operated by Phillips 66, photographed Jan. 31, 2026. The image predates the October lockout. Photo: Quintin Soloviev, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Cropped from the original.
