The “Schemes from the boardroom: the war by Arch and Peabody on the aging, ill and disabled” report was released on Tuesday by Interfaith Worker Justice and Religious Leaders for Coalfield Justice.
Peabody created Patriot in 2007 and Arch Coal created Magnum in 2005. Patriot subsequently acquired Magnum in 2008.
Patriot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July, putting the United Mine Workers of America and the three companies at loggerheads since.
Months of strikes and legal action preceded an official hearing which began on April 29, with the judgement on that hearing due within the next few weeks.
The report argues that Peabody and Arch moved their union workers to Patriot Coal to avoid paying health care and other retirement benefits.
Its authors claimed that Patriot’s bankruptcy threatened not only the 23,000 retired miners and their dependents who might lose their promised benefits but could also be responsible for establishing a precedent that would allow corporations across the company to create similar vehicles to remove their healthcare obligations.
The groups investigated Peabody in a previous fact-finding mission in 2006 and found “a pervasive pattern of disloyalty and disrespect on the part of Peabody’s management toward its workers and violations of workers’ legally guaranteed and internationally recognized right to organize”
The groups said they were using the report as “a call to action”
“This report, as was our 2006 report, is both a study document for people of faith and a call to action,” the report said.
“But the action called for today is far more urgent, critical and pervasive.
“What is at stake is the future presumption of corporate integrity and employee trust in the American economy.
“Today’s working people can no longer expect steady employment at living wages.
“If Peabody and Arch can get away with their dodge, no one’s retirement will ever be secure.”
The report includes pages of testimonies from retirees and dependents, a history of UMWA, a factsheet provided by Patriot Coal and suggestions of actions that people can take, including divesting in the stock of Arch and Peabody.
The groups hope that the report will trigger more involvement from the religious community and will co-host a prayer vigil with UMWA in Charleston on Thursday.
