COAL TALKS GIVEN ANOTHER 60 DAYS CONTRACT EXTENDED; TRUMKA SAYS NEGOTIATIONS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 26, 1993                   TAG: 9301260031
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
COAL TALKS GIVEN ANOTHER 60 DAYS CONTRACT EXTENDED; TRUMKA SAYS NEGOTIATIONS
The United Mine Workers union and four of the nation's major coal producers have announced a 60-day extension of their five-year contract, which was set to expire next Monday night.
One of the companies getting an extension from the union is Westmoreland Coal Co., one of Virginia's top producers. It has extensive mining operations in Wise and Lee counties.
Westmoreland joined the Drummond Co. Inc., Jim Walter Resources Inc. and U.S. Steel Mining Co. Inc. last year to form the Independent Bituminous Coal Bargaining Alliance to negotiate a new contract with the union.
The four companies and the union entered into negotiations, saying they hoped to reform labor-management relations. The companies represent 6,000 of the nation's 60,000 union coal miners.
"The discussions between the UMWA and IBCBA have been constructive," UMW President Rich Trumka said. "In that light, it's in everyone's interest that the current contract be extended as we continue our negotiations on a new agreement."
The alliance is negotiating a new contract with the union separate from the Bituminous Coal Operators Association, the industry group that traditionally negotiates the national contract for the coal industry. Westmoreland, headquartered in Philadelphia, dropped out of the BCOA last year to join the new group.
"We're really pleased that negotiations are going along in such a positive manner," Westmoreland spokesman Steve Anderson said Monday.
Trumka noted that the new bargaining alliance was formed "out of recognition that both labor and management must redefine the traditional relationship between workers and coal operators if American coal is going to compete globally in the years to come.
"Given that the UMWA and the IBCBA are examining issues that have never been addressed in any set of contract talks before, these negotiations are taking a little long to complete," Trumka said.
There was no word Monday on the progress of the union's separate talks with the BCOA, which are being conducted in Washington under a news blackout.
The contract extension applies to affiliates of the four companies in the new alliance but does not apply to BCOA companies or other companies that have signed the national contract.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB