ANACORTES, Wash. — Tesoro's Anacortes refinery ran Monday without 200 unionized workers.
They got the call over the weekend from the United Steelworkers to join a national strike, the largest since 1980.
"It's difficult; we all have families," said worker Cory Bowen, who said he's concerned about safety.
"We come in here every day with the knowledge that something catastrophic could happen," Bowen said.
It April 2010, it did.
Bowen's brother, Matt, was among seven workers who died after an explosion at the Tesoro refinery.
Federal regulators later said it was caused by a "high temperature hydrogen attack," which over time weakened a 40-year-old heat exchanger.
"After what happened here, safety is paramount to us and it's always in the back of our minds about anything we see could be contributing to an unsafe workplace," said Ryan Anderson, an instrument and electrical technician who also serves as the head union bargainer for workers at the plant.
He said understaffing means forced overtime, 60-hour weeks and fatigued workers.
Tesoro wrote to KIRO 7, "Safety is a core value and is evident in everything we do … claims to the contrary are baseless."
The union's complaint is not with this refinery alone.
Steelworkers leaders say understaffing is a common problem in the industry.
Workers at the Anacortes facility are in contract negotiations, and were asked to join the national strike, which includes facilities covering 10 percent of the nation's refining capacity.
Some analysts say the strike could raise oil prices and signal the end of cheap, $2 per gallon gas.
KIRO 7's Graham Johnson will have a full report on KIRO 7 Eyewitness News at 5 p.m.
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