While the company did not release details of the new deal, it confirmed the agreement signed with the IUOE Local 400 comes into effect April 1 and expires on March 31, 2016.
“Westmoreland is pleased that we were able to promptly negotiate and ratify a new collective bargaining agreement for our Savage mine,” senior vice-president of operations Joseph Micheletti said.
“The employees of Savage exemplify our core values of safety, operational excellence, integrity and company pride.”
Westmoreland Coal, the nation’s largest independent operator, purchased Savage in 1958. Producing about 350,000 tons of lignite annually, the 874 acre complex near the Montana/North Dakota border has sold coal to the Montana-Dakota Utility Lewis and Clark station since 1958.
The producer also owns coal operations in Montana’s Powder River Basin, sub-bituminous mines in Wyoming, and lignite mining operations in Montana, North Dakota and Texas.
