The laid of operators have been gone since March in cymric. These contractors are paid less, but have the same responsibilities as their predecessors. They do lock out tag outs and issue out work permits.
As far as I know this is only happening in Cymric. Midway and Kern River have different unions so they just did call backs.
4plw- Roger that! I've worked at a number of Chevron sites where unions were present, and in EVERY case, more angst, effort, and energy was expended on perceived/supposed slights "endured" by union represented labor to the point that it became their primary function! They're typically like a bunch of old women, with nothing better to do than go about, wringing their hands, b--ching and moaning about which ever grudge at the time was foremost in their (sic) minds. The plant (or district) manager, constantly seeking cost parity with their non-union (organizational) "competition, was powerless to lower labor costs (typically, one of the largest cost components in the budget), but such efforts just spawned even MORE rage and time-consuming retribution from the Union! Union slugs infect the cost structure, making "efficiency" virtually impossible, and they destroy morale, with their constant whining and complaining. BUT,... the presence of an on-site union DOES provide the stupid and uneducated the chance to shoot their mouths off, and impress, at least themselves, by elevating even the most trivial "wrong" to the attention of Management. And, of course,... there were the near constant parades of (free) "lunches". It is no wonder that the Democrats are so drawn to unions and their accompanying nonsense.
Held hostage by the unions
Cymric. Garden spot of the San Joaquin valley. Hated it, while I was there, but for reasons I can not explain,... I do miss it. Kind of. A little. Well,... actually,.... not at all. But, the people were great to work with, even if the place, itself, kind of s---ed. All in all, I'm happy to hear that Cymric is still producing. A lot of us worked, very hard, back in the '92 era, to make that happen. Mr. Harrison, in MY humble opinion, STILL ranks as the best General Manager I ever worked for.
It's called free market forces at work. If a contractor will do it for less, why should the company pay you more? You sound like a whiny liberal.