The Porter County Board of Commissioners made a public declaration of support at their meeting Tuesday morning for the 800 families still being affected by the ongoing BP lockout.
A collective bargaining agreement between BP and United Steelworkers Local 7-1 expired in January.
“It’s been almost six months and there are 800 families that have been affected by the lockout at the BP refinery, and I would imagine that many of those families do live in Porter County,” said Board Vice President Barb Regnitz, R-Center, before reading the resolution aloud.
It stated that the lockout, which began March 19, “affects not only these members and their families, but also the businesses, service providers, and economies throughout Northwest Indiana whose economies are intertwined with the refinery and its workforce.”
“The Board of Commissioners recognizes the contributions that organized labor and skilled trades have made to the economic strength of Northwest Indiana and good faith bargaining provides the best means of resolving labor disputes and of maintaining stable and productive relationships between employers and employees,” the resolution continued.
It further encouraged both parties to keep the negotiations, resumed on Sept. 14, going, and encouraged BP to end the lockout and return the members of Local 7-1 to work as those talks move forward.
The Porter County auditor was directed to transmit copies of the resolution to Local 7-1, BP, Gov. Mike Braun’s office and the Indiana General Assembly.
In other business, the highway department requested $100,000 in payroll transfers to finish out the year, as well as an additional $100,000 for fuel. Highway Superintendent Jim Polarek had already given county officials a forewarning at a recent meeting to discuss how to pay for storm recovery efforts that the requests were coming.
The board gave its approval for the drafting of a Financial Commitment Letter committing the county to pay a $1 million match that will allow it to apply for a Community Crossings Matching Grant from the state.
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Finally, the Department of Development and Storm Water Management announced a stretch of Furnessville Road will become one-way as part of the Marquette Greenway extension project.
The road, between Hadenfeldt and Schoolhouse Roads, will become westbound. There are no residences on that stretch. “I would say in the next two, three years we’ll be done,” said Development and Storm Water Management Executive Director Mike Jabo of the county’s share of the project.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.