Major US oil companies are increasingly adopting aggressive strategies in labor negotiations, including lockouts and the use of replacement workers, to secure concessions from unions. This trend, exemplified by Exxon's 2021 lockout and ongoing disputes at BP's Whiting, Indiana, and Marathon's Martinez, California refineries, aims to undermine unions' bargaining power and reduce costs. BP, for instance, has offered a 13% raise over four years but seeks to transfer non-core work and waive bargaining rights related to AI tools and time clocks.