Detroit, MI - Workers at Marathon Petroleum's Detroit refinery have ended their three-month strike after successfully negotiating a new seven-year contract that includes wage increases and benefits, improved healthcare benefits, and a union pension plan.
The agreement, ratified on December 14, marks the resolution of the first strike at the facility in 30 years. Approximately 270 members of Teamsters Local 283 had been on strike since September 4, 2023, after negotiations that began in December 2022 failed to produce an acceptable contract before the previous agreement expired in January 2023.
"Marathon's Detroit refinery is pleased to have reached a new, mutually beneficial 7-year collective bargaining agreement," said Jamal Khiery, a Marathon spokesperson. The company has begun the process of safely returning workers to their positions at the 140,000 barrel-per-day facility in southwest Detroit.
During the work stoppage, Marathon maintained operations by utilizing other full-time employees to run the refinery, which is one of the company's 13 facilities nationwide. The Detroit location represents an important part of Marathon's total 2.9 million barrel-per-day crude oil refining capacity.
The new contract comes after multiple negotiating sessions conducted under federal mediation. Both the union and company expressed satisfaction with the agreement, which addresses key worker concerns about compensation and benefits while maintaining the refinery's ability to produce transportation fuels for local communities.
The resolution brings stability to both the workforce and operations at the southwest Detroit facility, ending one of the longest labor disputes in the refinery's recent history.