Court proceedings for Patriot Coal’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case are scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis. The company first filed for bankruptcy last July.
Among other things, the Patriot reorganization plan includes cuts to healthcare benefits for current workers and retirees.
The United Mine Workers of America has staged a series of rallies in recent months at the St. Louis headquarter locations for Patriot Coal, Arch Coal and Peabody Coal to raise awareness about the potential reductions.
UMWA President Cecil Roberts said members of his organization and their supporters will be back in St. Louis on Monday morning for what could be the largest such rally yet. As many as 3,000 people may attend.
“When the bankruptcy court begins hearings on Monday about Patriot’s demands for drastic, unnecessary cuts in the standard of living for active and retired miners, they’re going to hear from us,” Roberts said in a statement.
The union members claim Patriot was formed in 2007 so both Arch Coal and Peabody Coal could shrug off benefit liabilities for current workers and retirees.
But company officials say that is not the case. They say Patriot was initially profitable and has only recently faced financial hardships because of a declining demand for coal and rising costs in recent years.
Patriot reached an agreement on benefits with non union employees earlier this month, but those workers only account for a small percentage of Patriot’s total workforce.