Patriot Coal Corp. averted a bankruptcy showdown with its miners on Thursday, after the union representing its workers and the company’s proposed suitor agreed on a new employment pact, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Patriot attorney Michael Slade said in bankruptcy court that talks between the company, the United Mine Workers of America union and proposed Patriot buyer Blackhawk Mining LLC yielded an agreement on “material terms” of a new collective bargaining agreement for Patriot’s unionized workers at what would be the post-merger company. Like a similar deal reached with the nonprofit organization hoping to buy a smaller subset of Patriot’s assets, this agreement is subject to ratification by union members. The union will ask its members to vote on the accord once the bankruptcy court has granted Patriot’s request to reject the existing collective bargaining agreements covering miners at Patriot.
