By LNS California Organizer Veronica Wilson
On October 16th, news broke that Phillips 66 will shut down its Los Angeles refinery in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company gave notice of plans to close the refinery that has roughly 600 employees and a few hundred more contractors in two facilities linked by pipeline located five miles apart in Carson and Wilmington, California.
Built more than a hundred years ago, the refinery distills crude oil and produces a high percentage of transportation fuels. Operators are at the refinery day and night, rain or shine to make sure fuel is processed safely. Refinery closures are not new in California. The number of refineries in the state has been on the decline since the 1990s, from more than 30 to less than 10 today. Still, the timing is unpredictable and losing employment can be life threatening. Emotional and financial toll on workers and impact on local economies and whole communities can be devastating.
In 2021, unions representing workers in oil, the public sector, health care and manufacturing in the state came together in solidarity to get behind a plan for California to transition to clean energy. Recommendations were largely based on economic analysis pointing to solutions like wage insurance, health care and retraining. These recommendations were echoed in a survey of workers who were laid off when the Marathon refinery in Martinez, California shuttered suddenly at the outset of the pandemic.
Unions have been advocating for direct financial support and skills verification at the top of the list of supports needed as part of a Workers Climate Bill of Rights. The question now is will this real-time transition moment inspire action to support workers and communities? And if not, what will it take?