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Consol, retirees state their cases face to face on benefits cutoff

1 min read

A group of former Consol Energy mining employees, upset at having their retirement benefits cut off, stated their case face to face to the company Wednesday morning.

Consol Retirees United for Our Rights met with Consol officials before the firm’s annual shareholders meeting at its Southpointe headquarters. Consol spokeswoman Kate O’Donovan said the two sides will meet again later this month.

More than 1,200 retirees lost medical, prescription drug and life insurance coverage Dec. 31. They were salaried, non-union supervisors at five Consol mines in West Virginia, which were sold to Murray Energy Corp. in late 2013. Murray then announced in April 2014 the benefits would be terminated at year’s end.

The group wants the benefits to be reinstated, contending Consol went back on a promise the coverages would continue.

Consol Retirees sent numerous letters to the company on their stance and organized three protests: a candlelight vigil outside corporate headquarters in early January; a demonstration outside Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh before the Penguins’ first playoff game last month; and a rally in Southpointe last week.

About 160 Pennsylvania families were affected by the cutoffs.

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