Patriot Coal Corp reaches agreement with union

August 12, 2013

1 minute read

The United Workers of America (UMWA) announced that it has reached an agreement with Patriot Coal Corp on new terms and conditions of employment, following months of protests and heated negotiations.

Workers will vote on the labor deal Friday, Aug. 16, the UMWA announced in a statement. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that about 1,800 active or laid-off members in West Virginia and Kentucky are eligible to vote.

Terms of the settlement are not being released until after the vote, but the union said the new terms offer significant improvements from changes ordered by federal Bankruptcy Judge Kathy Surratt-States on May 29.

“After several weeks of nearly around-the-clock negotiations, I believe we have reached something that can be taken to the membership for ratification,” UMWA International President Cecil Roberts said in a statement. “We have been able to restore, or at least improve upon, many of the most drastic changes that the Judge ordered, including in the area of wages, health care benefits, paid time off, pensions, and more. In addition, we have negotiated a mechanism that will allow retiree health care benefits to continue.”

Creve Coeur-based Patriot Coal filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and sought union wage and benefit concessions, prompting protests across the country, including in St. Louis, where Patriot’s former parent company, Peabody Energy, is headquartered. Peabody spun off Patriot in 2007 and the following year, Patriot bought Magnum Coal, which consisted of some Arch Coal assets in Appalachia. Arch Coal also is based in Creve Coeur.

Patriot plans to file a motion with the bankruptcy court to authorize entering into the new labor agreement.

“This represents the successful conclusion of a difficult negotiation in which both the UMWA leadership and Patriot management have invested many long days,” Patriot’s president and Chief Executive Officer Bennett Hatfield said in a statement. “Both parties want to preserve jobs and protect healthcare benefits for retirees by keeping Patriot on track for reorganization – and not liquidation. We appreciate the cooperation of the UMWA leadership and the sacrifices of all of our employees and retirees as we work to restore Patriot to viability.”