One of the main points of dispute in the lockout centers around Marathon’s ability to sub-contract jobs previously done by permanent well-trained employees. Generally, disputes over sub-contracting break down simply as job protection vs. money. In other words, the Union wants to keep their jobs and the company wants to save money by hiring cheaper less skilled labor. In St. Paul Park, however, Marathon’s motivation may be far more sinister.

Refinery jobs are incredibly dangerous. Something Marathon and its employees in St. Paul Park know all to well. In 2007, Marathon employee Nick Gunter was burned alive in a tank after an explosion occurred. He was 29 when he died. Incidents like what happened to Nick are not unique to St. Paul Park or rare in the refining industry.

According to the 2015 EHS article “A Deadly Industry”, at least 64 people died at refineries between 2005-2015. Its at least 64 because tracking incidents involving sub-contractors is difficult to impossible. According to EHS: “Oil refiners have increasingly contracted out some of their most dangerous jobs to companies that are classified elsewhere.”

Rather than addressing issues to make their industry safer, Marathon seems to be re-structuring their workforce in order to give themselves cover in the form of plausible deniability and a scapegoat (the sub-contracting company) when accidents happen. They can continue operating dangerously with less accountability when there is an incident.

In March of last year an employee of sub-contractor Turner Industries died in an industrial accident at the CITGO Charles Lake refinery in Vinton, LA. The focus of the coverage around the accident focused far more on Turner Industries than it did on the parent refinery company. Liability and OSHA oversight for the incident would also presumably fall primarily on Turner and not the parent company that hired Turner and runs the refinery.

According to several sources this “pull the curtain” game is already being played by Marathon in St. Paul Park. For over a year, the company appears to have been systematically replacing skilled contractors with sub-contractors that have lower standards. Many of the previous contractors maintained certified apprenticeship programs to ensure employees were highly qualified and safe on the job. Very few of the new sub-contractors maintain those programs.

For a case study on why Marathon is doing this, look no further than STARCON International. Multiple sources state that since Marathon brought STARCON into SPP, its safety record has been abysmal. To keep the veneer of safety going, Marathon reportedly cancelled STARCON’s contract and awarded it to a new cut-rate sub-contracting company. This new company appears to be hiring many of the same employees that previously worked under STARCON and its abysmal record. The new sub-contractor… (You guessed it) Turner Industries.

You see, by playing this sub-contracting game, Marathon will be able to “keep their hands clean” from some liability and accountability using the sub-contractor as a buffer. They will say STARCON was the bad actor, not Marathon. They will claim Marathon fired STARCON because Marathon is committed to safety. In reality, they are just changing the costumes on a rotating group of clown outfits that all appear to hire the same unskilled clowns.

Worse yet, the risk from these places isn’t just to the workers inside the gates. In October of 2020, the Oxford University Press published a study that found a statistically significant correlation between several types of cancer in communities and the communities’ proximity to an oil refinery. These accidents, these spills, these explosions don’t just harm the workers. They harm kids and families in the surrounding communities.

Marathon’s continuance of sub-contracting policies that result in accidents is abhorrent. For any other citizen, having a reckless disregard for human life that results in death is called Manslaughter. Our question: When the next accident happens, will Marathon be held to the same standard as the rest of us?

Here in MN, at least one legislator is planning to do something about this. State Sen. Karla Bigham, whose district includes the Marathon refinery, is proposing legislation to address the issue. Her proposal would require that sub-contractors at safety sensitive sites maintain a certified apprentice program to ensure a highly skilled workforce at these incredibly dangerous sites.

While this legislation won’t entirely fix the problem of bad corporate actors running refineries, it’s a start. And it needs to pass.

Companies like Marathon cannot be allowed to operate both unsafely and without accountability. No one should have a license to kill in our state.

(Pictured below credit EHS: Texas City Refinery Disaster)

Oxford Study EHS Article Turner Industries News Report

The root of these problems for many companies seems to be the way that they view their business. Corporations that view their business as a way to provide a benefit to society seem to be more successful and have less of these types of issues. Look no further than some of America’s most successful people (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey etc.) to see examples of this. What the above individuals have in common is they all sought to add value to the marketplace. They focused on long term growth rather than high risk short term goals.

This “Value Added” mentality leads successful companies to invest in talent and create a culture where talent at every level of their business is valued and encouraged. Contrast that with the recent leaked video of Senior leadership at UBER berating an entry level driver for having opinions.

We have yet to see for certain exactly how much impact Uber’s culture will have on their bottom line. But one thing is for sure, in this writer’s opinion long-term vision and successful talent management is part of the recipe that investors should look for.

MyPillow announced Thursday that they are severing ties with trucking companies FLE/LME in response to customer concerns over the ongoing issue with the trucking firms. Corporatetransparency.org received the following statement from MyPillow CAO Joseph Springer:

‘MyPillow hires a third-party broker to arrange trucking and was not aware of any issues with LME/FLE until it received the press release issued by CorporateTransparancey.org on February 15, 2017.

While MyPillow is not a party to any dispute between LME/FLE and its workers, MyPillow understands that some of its customers have raised a concern regarding LME/FLE and for that reason, MyPillow has notified its trucking broker to stop using LME/FLE. MyPillow is proud of its Minnesota workers and supports all Minnesotans that work hard for a living.’

It is refreshing to see a company that takes pride in its Minnesota roots and actually do the right thing for Minnesotans. I think we all wish we had more companies like this in our state.

Graeme Allen Reporting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Corporate Transparency has already reported on the backlash some major Minnesota companies are facing as a result of their business ties to the trucking firms FLE and LME. FLE/LME executives put 95 families out of work with no notice three days before Thanksgiving and refused to pay them for work already completed which has put them under investigation from the State of Minnesota.

After several major customers have made statements indicating they would no longer use FLE/LME many are asking why Fleet Farm, Northern Tool, and Toro have not done the same. In fact, a Toro truck was seen in FLE’s parking lot the week before Christmas (picture below).

The public backlash from this story has been swift. Corporate Transparency has already reported on the numerous news articles that have came out as a result of LME/FLE’s treatment of these 95 families. Unconfirmed reports say that LME’s revenue is down roughly 50%, indicating a significant drop in clients.

Which begs the question: Why would Fleet Farm, Northern Tool, and Toro continue using LME/FLE for their freight, there are surely other carriers that could do the work for a similar price. Corporate Transparency has reached out to several LME/FLE customers and will update this story if a response is received.

PRESS CONTACT
GRAEME ALLEN
gallen@corporatetransparency.org
612-481-2144

Teamsters Local 120 intends to hold strike authorization votes at five time periods on Friday, May 29, 2015.