June 8, 2012:

Refinery workers accept contract. Workers at the Tesoro refinery in Martinez have voted to accept the company's latest contract offer, ending the possibility of a strike that could have increased California's gasoline prices. The United Steelworkers union, which represents more than 450 employees at the Golden Eagle refinery, said after Wednesday night's vote that the company had agreed not to make substantial changes in workers' benefits for most of the three-year contract's duration. The union complained that in 2011 Tesoro unilaterally eliminated some retiree medical benefits at its refineries and cut the amount it would spend to match employee contributions to pensions and 401(k) plans. Further details of the new contract were not immediately available.

The workers in Martinez initially voted in May to reject the contract offer and were the last at Tesoro's union-represented refineries to reach an agreement with the company. Employees at Tesoro's only other California refinery - in Wilmington (Los Angeles County) - ratified the contract two weeks ago. A strike at one or both of the refineries could have pushed up gasoline prices, which are finally falling in California after two separate price spikes this spring.

By SFGate