HOUSTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - United Steelworkers union (USW)International President Leo Gerard said on Tuesday that the U.S.refinery strike could spread if talks do not resume soon.
A total of 6,550 USW members are on strike at 15 plants,including 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of U.S.capacity.
"(The strike spreading) depends on what happens in the nextround of negotiations and that those negotiations resume fairlyquickly," Gerard in a telephone news conference from Atlanta. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)