No meetings last week between Chevron, union negotiators in refinery strike -official

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Negotiators for Chevron Corp and the United Steelworkers union (USW) did not meet last week to discuss a possible end to a strike at the company’s Richmond, California, refinery, said B.K. White, first vice president of USW Local 12-5 on Monday.

The two sides have not met in three weeks. The strike began on March 21 after 500 workers represented by the Local 12-5 voted for a second time to reject Chevron’s contract offer.

Chevron spokesperson Tyler Kruzich said several refinery unions, including three refineries and a chemical plant owned by Chevron, in the United States have accepted contracts similar to the one put forward by the company to Richmond workers.

“We look forward to continuing negotiations with the USW Local 5 so they can rejoin our workforce soon,” Kruzich said.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Richard Chang)