The Mine Workers (UMWA) will appeal a federal judge’s decision today to dismiss a class-action suit the union and a group of active and retired miners filed against Peabody Energy and Arch Coal in October. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston, W.Va., charged that the companies had violated federal pension laws when they transferred the health and pension benefits of more than 10,000 active and retired miners to the newly created Patriot Coal Corp. in 2007 to avoid their obligations to the miners.  
 

UMWA President Cecil Roberts said:

We believe the decision fails to recognize the purpose of ERISA [Employee Retirement Income Security Act], which is to protect the benefits employees have earned. Our members who are at risk of losing the retiree health care benefits Peabody and Arch promised them clearly earned those benefits. We will continue to fight for them in every possible venue until those benefits are secure.

In August, the UMWA reached a settlement with Patriot—which had filed for bankruptcy in 2012—that restored many of the wage and benefit cuts Patriot instituted as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. But settlement with Patriot does not give enough resources to fulfill the promise of lifetime health care benefits that Peabody and Arch agreed to provide to thousands of retirees from those companies.  

On Tuesday in St. Louis, more than 5,000 active and retired miners and their supporters marched through downtown to Peabody’s corporate headquarters, where they surrounded the building for a massive rally. Roberts told the crowd:

It’s time for Peabody Energy and Arch Coal to meet their responsibilities. This fight is anything but over…Men and women worked underground for decades to earn these benefits. These companies are profitable, and they must step up to meet their obligations to these retirees.  

Learn more at Fairness at Patriot.