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The protesting 750 members and union supporters claim the coal giant is responsible for Patriot Coal’s bankruptcy and the subsequent jeopardizing of pension and health care benefits for company retirees and their dependents.
Roberts said Peabody dumped its healthcare obligations to employees when the company spun off Patriot in 2007.
“Peabody talks about the billions it saved when it dumped these obligations,” Roberts said in a statement before the march. “Some of those ‘savings’ are with us here today.
“Peabody, Arch Coal and Patriot Coal may be proud of the financial con game they’re playing on these retirees to get out of decades of promises and obligations, but the truth is that this is a sickening display of corporate greed that has overstepped the boundaries of decency.”
Peabody has maintained that the UMWA was fully aware of the plan regarding retiree healthcare benefits at the time of Patriot’s spin-off and assented to the payment arrangement.
An official response from Peabody said that the matter was “solely between the union and Patriot Coal, and the proper process for deciding such issues is through the bankruptcy court, not the court of public opinion”.
Roberts pointed out, however, in a recent interview with West Virginia talk show MetroNews Talkline that many of those impacted by the situation never worked for Patriot, but were instead retired from Peabody or Arch (Arch’s spin-off Magnum Coal was ultimately absorbed by Patriot).
“Now they're being told because some other company is going out of business they lose their benefits. That just can't be right,” he said.
A status hearing in the Patriot bankruptcy was due yesterday in the St Louis federal building.
The troubled miner has reportedly filed court documents that will limit its commitments to pay health benefits to mine retirees and their families.
According to a Reuters report, the troubled miner has filed court documents proposing the establishment of a trust to be known as a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association.
The setup will provide no more than $US40 million annually up to a limit of $200 million.
The total will nearly certainly not meet the needs of the impacted workers; documents reflect retiree benefits in 2012 totaled $71 million.
That annual total is projected to rise to about $73.8 million.
