Walter Energy Inc. defeated an attempt by union workers to salvage job contracts and keep retiree benefits after a judge upheld a lower court ruling allowing the bankrupt coal producer to reject labor agreements, Reuters reported yesterday. U.S. District Judge David Proctor rejected an appeal by an affiliate of the United Mine Workers of America, saying that a U.S. bankruptcy judge's decision in December to allow Walter Energy to end its labor agreements was "valid." Alabama-based Walter Energy, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, had said that it needed to end its collective bargaining agreements and retiree benefits in order to sell its core operations, given the industry's dire straits. The sale to Warrior Met Coal, an entity formed by Walter Energy's lenders, was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in January.
