Judge sides with bankrupt Patriot in company’s push to cut worker health care, pension

ST. LOUIS — A bankrupt coal producer got a judge’s go-ahead Wednesday to significantly cut health care and pension benefits to thousands of workers and retirees, claiming victory over a miners’ union that swiftly condemned the ruling it pledges to appeal.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kathy Surratt-States’ 102-page ruling favoring St. Louis-based Patriot Coal dashed the nation’s biggest coal miners’ union’s hopes of scuttling the company’s quest to impose wage and benefit cuts by walking away from its collective-bargaining agreements.

Surratt-States ultimately concluded the cost-cutting proposals were legal, perhaps unavoidable, for Patriot, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer to address labor obligations it insisted have grown unsustainable.

READ MORE:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/judge-sides-with-bankrupt-patriot-in-companys-push-to-cut-worker-health-care-pension/2013/05/29/3f8e7962-c89a-11e2-9cd9-3b9a22a4000a_story.html