Ten Arrested At Protest Tied To Patriot Coal Bankruptcy

Concerned about thousands of jobs and the fate of retirement benefits impacting thousands more, members of the United Mine Workers Association and other labor unions rallied across from the U.S. Federal Court building in downtown St. Louis Tuesday, on the first day of bankruptcy court proceedings for Creve Coeur-based Patriot Coal. The group then marched to Peabody Energy's Headquarters, where The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports ten people were arrested.

View More Photos From Tuesday's Protest

Read: Information about the bankruptcy proceedings 

Steve Earle, a Vice President in the UMWA told the courthouse crowd, which included workers and their families from as far away as Ohio and West Virginia, that they were there to "challenge a grave injustice."

Protestors say that Patriot Coal was essentialy "set up to fail" as a way of getting pension obligations off the books of Peabody and Arch Coal. The Post-Dispatch reports that while the company hasn't  formally asked to rid itself of retiree health care obligations, union leaders believe that's what's coming.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Patriot has proposed the creation of a trust, a voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA that would dedicate up to $200 million for future retiree health benefits of active and retired miners and beneficiaries

"I hope it'll show that these big companies making billions of dollars every year can't crap on us little guys," said Charles Whitlow, a Peabody retiree from New Athens, IL said of Tuesday's protests. Whitlow, now disabled, said he worked for the company for 33 years before retiring in 2000. His health insurance coverage is now on Patriot Coal's books and he said he's afraid he and his wife will lose everything they have without health insurance coverage.

A UMWA spokesman said Patriot's Creve Coeur headquarters would not be subject to protests on the first day of the bankruptcy hearing but said the organization would have a presence throughout the process. Creve Coeur Police have been providing additional security at Patriot's headquarters on a contract basis.

Activists targeted Arch Coal's Creve Coeur headquarters at CityPlace last week  Seven people were arrested.

A message seeking comment from Patriot Coal was not returned.