Ruling Favors Patriot Coal in Labor Dispute LOUIS - Patriot Coal, a bankrupt coal producer, got a judge's approval on Wednesday to significantly cut health care and pension benefits to thousands of workers and retirees, claiming victory over a miners" union that swiftly condemned the ruling and said it would appeal. The judge, Kathy Surratt-States, concluded in a 102-page ruling that the cost-cutting proposals were legal, perhaps unavoidable, for Patriot, which sought Chapter 11 protection last summer to address labor obligations it said were unsustainable. The United Mineworkers of America, the nation's biggest union for coal miners, had threatened a strike if Judge Surratt-States's decision did not go its way. But after the ruling, the union said negotiations would continue. "We remain willing to take painful steps to help Patriot get through the rough period it faces over the next couple of years," Cecil E. Roberts, the president of the union, said in a statement. But if we're going to share in that pain, then we have every right to share in the company's gain when it becomes profitable again. Bennett Hatfield, Patriot's president and chief executive, called the ruling "a major step forward" for the company. He also said that bargaining with the union would continue. Patriot has said it would have to spend $1.6 billion to cover health care costs, putting it at risk of liquidation. Instead, the company has proposed creating a trust with up to $300 million from future profit-sharing to pay for some health benefits. Patriot also would give the union a 35 percent equity stake in the company after it emerges from bankruptcy.