United Mine Workers of America spokesman Phil Smith told The Courier Press that a mass rally would be held next Tuesday at the Henderson County Courthouse, Kentucky.

The rally would follow Judge Kathy Surratt-States’ ruling on the case, which is expected on May 29.

Surratt-States will deliberate Patriot’s controversial plan to make cuts that effectively eliminate health care benefits for about 23,000 retired miners and their dependents, including UMWA members.

Smith said more than 30 bus loads of miners, retirees and their families would travel from around the Midwest, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio

Protests have been held more regularly over the past several weeks, to coincide with the advancement of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings.

Patriot has operations in Kentucky that were previously owned by its parent company, Peabody Energy.

Patriot alleges that in Peabody’s 2007 spin-off of the company, it was unfairly saddled with “approximately $600 million of retiree healthcare liabilities, along with hundreds of millions of dollars of other liabilities, including environmental reclamation obligations and black lung benefits”

Patriot was this week given permission to peruse documents from Peabody Energy’s financial advisers.