By Jarrett Renshaw
NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc's Philadelphia-area refinery has struck a deal with the localunion that will likely prevent the facility from joining thecountry's largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years.
United Steelworkers 10-234 and Monroe Energy, the subsidiaryof Delta that runs the 185,000-barrel-per-day refinery inTrainer, Pennsylvania, issued a joint statement Friday thatsaid: "After a month of good faith negotiations, we're pleasedto announce that we have reached a tentative agreement on alllocal issues including wages and benefits."
The two sides declined to disclose the details of theagreement.
The final decision on whether to strike rests with USWInternational, which is leading national bargaining talks withRoyal Dutch Shell. One of the factors used in weighinga strike at a refinery is whether there is agreement on localissues.
Once USW International and Shell reach an agreement, it willbe combined with contract at the local level.
The USW International has already called for strikes in 15facilities since Feb. 1, including 12 refineries that accountfor one-fifth of U.S. domestic production capacity. Laborleaders have threatened more strikes if talks, which resumeMonday, fail.
Negotiations take place simultaneously at the local andnational level, with the national discussions involving specificitems like wages and the use of contractors. But the dividinglines are not always clear. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
