The contract, which the union initially signed with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA) and member company Consol Energy, is being presented to all US union operators with the opportunity to accept. JWR is the first non-BCOA member owner to do so.

“We believe this contract is to the benefit of both parties,” JWR chief George Richmond told International Longwall News. “Our union employees have a contract which is fair and equitable, and for our shareholders, the company has a strong, experienced workforce in place to deliver our high-quality Blue Creek Coal through the length of the contract.”

The new agreement is effective through December 31, 2011, and JWR spokesman Dennis Hall confirmed for ILN that “the contract is in line with the agreement recently reached between the United Mine Workers of America and the Bituminous Coal Operators Association.”

Terms of the JWR contract were not disclosed, and a request for comment from the UMWA was not responded to by press time.

However, union president Cecil Roberts commented on the deal late last week in a statement: “Jim Walter has recognised the contract as a blueprint for all UMWA represented companies. [The company] also recognised that this agreement is a good and workable agreement for miners and mine operators in Alabama, just as it is for miners and operators in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, the Midwest and everywhere else in the nation.”

Union spokesman Phil Smith also confirmed for some media outlets Thursday that talks are pending with Alabama operators Pittsburgh and Midway, PinnOak Resources and Drummond as well as industry giants Peabody, Foundation, Magnum Coal and Murray Energy using the same agreement. Some of the companies’ agreements have expired or will be expiring, according to reports.