US refinery strike widens to include Shell JV

Houston

THE US refinery strike widened on its 20th day, with workers at the nation's largest refinery walking off jobs and joining picket lines on Saturday as the United Steelworkers union (USW) pushes for a new contract that improves wages and safety.

Strikes are underway or have been called at 15 plants, including 12 refineries with a fifth of US crude processing capacity. The stoppages, which have forced companies to rely on trained temporary workers to keep plants running close to normal, are the largest in the refining sector since 1980.