Union miners outraged by the prospect of losing medical benefits and wages protested on Tuesday against three companies, Peabody, Patriot Coal and Arch Coal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday. Peabody spun off Patriot in 2007, and in 2008 Patriot bought Magnum Coal, a company comprising Arch Coal assets. The UMWA claims that Peabody created Patriot so it could shed its union obligations, and that Patriot was designed to fail. It is a charge Peabody has vigorously disputed. Nonetheless, Patriot filed for chapter 11 protection in July 2012, and last week it asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to change union contracts. If a judge approves those changes, the union says, the ruling would allow the company to cut health care for retirees, reduce wages and alter work hours. Patriot says that it needs to offload $1 billion in legacy costs to stay viable and continue employing its 4,000-strong workforce.
