Sunoco's Phila. unit ratifies contract

Union workers at Sunoco Inc.'s Philadelphia refinery have overwhelmingly approved a three-year contract, union officials said, just as the company is slashing 20 percent of its nonunion workforce.

The 700 members of United Steelworkers Local 10-1 in Philadelphia on Friday followed their colleagues at Sunoco's Marcus Hook refinery, who ratified their contract Thursday.

Each contract provides a 3 percent annual raise and a $2,500 up-front bonus, maintains benefits, and avoids layoffs. But the union's gain may have come at a cost for the Philadelphia company's salaried employees, Local 10-1 president Jim Savage said.

"In my opinion, Sunoco had a number they were going to get to, and they couldn't get more from us, so they took from them - and it's shame," Savage said.

On the day the union votes were cast Friday, Sunoco chairman and chief executive officer Lynn Elsenhans announced the elimination of 750 salaried, or nonunion, jobs out of the 3,700 in the Philadelphia region.

Elsenhans said the layoffs were necessary for the company to break even during a natural downturn in the refining process that was made worse by the recession.

Savage called the layoffs "gluttony." His people were not all happy, but "they knew it was better than the alternative," he said.

"There are 750 people who wish they were members of 10-1 right now."