By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters). Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:), on Sunday informed workers at the Beaumont refinery in Texas that their six-month lockout would end if the company’s contract is ratified or the United Steelworkers union (USW), was removed as their representative.

Exxon stated in an online message that the Union has been informed of the following conditions: “The company will terminate the lockout only if it signs and is ratified the agreement.”

This hasn’t changed and any claim to the contrary are false. The company will return workers to work if they decertify.

The process of decertification allows a union to be removed from representing workers at a particular location. A petition signed by at minimum 30% of locked-out workers is being reviewed by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. This could result in a vote to remove USW Local 13243 from Beaumont as their representative. There is no date yet for a vote.

The Tuesday vote will be held at Beaumont Refinery (with a capacity of 369 024 barrels per day) and adjacent lubricant oil plants, which make Mobil 1 Motor Oil, to determine the terms of the contract.

Bryan Gross (USW International representative) said the company made the decision to initiate the lockout in May 1.

“The union was asked by the company, “What has it done?” Gross spoke on Sunday. Gross claimed that the union helped to buy groceries, pay bills and now provides insurance coverage for all the workers at multi-billion dollar companies.

USW has asked workers at the refinery not to accept Tuesday’s contract offer.

In June, the union filed a complaint to the NLRB alleging that the lockout had been used for the sole purpose of removing the union.

Exxon stated that it initiated the lockout in order to stop disruptions of possible strikes.