By Terry Evans May 24, 2021 12News/KBMTMembers of United Steelworkers Local 13-243 picket outside ExxonMobil in Beaumont, Texas, after being locked out by bosses May 1 in attack on seniority rights, safety and job security. Hiring is edging up as government coronavirus lockdowns are lifted and growing numbers of vaccinated workers rejoin the workforce. Better conditions are being created for workers to come together on the job to beat back attempts by the bosses to defend their competitive position against rivals at home and abroad and boost profits at the expense of our wages, safety and working conditions. More workers are organizing side by side in union struggles. Safety for workers in oil refineries and for nearby communities is at the heart of fights by workers at ExxonMobil in Texas and at a Marathon Petroleum refinery in Minnesota who are picketing against boss lockouts.