© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Thousands Protest Patriot Coal In West Virginia

(Adam Allington/St. Louis Public Radio)

Police are warning motorists of traffic congestion and diversions Monday as the United Mine Workers of America protests Patriot Coal's bankruptcy reorganization plan in West Virginia.

Some 5,000 participants are expected to begin arriving at the Civic Center in Charleston around 9 a.m. The UMWA says people from southern West Virginia will drive in, and 50 buses are carrying people from seven states.

Participants will rally at 11:30 a.m. at Laidley Tower, where Patriot's West Virginia offices are located.

Last week, the West Virginia House of Delegates called for Patriot to honor its pension and benefit commitments to some 23,000 retired miners and their dependents.
 
St. Louis-based Patriot is trying to shed some of that $1.6 billion liability as it restructures.