End of Coal Union in North Dakota?

Link here to the Bismarck Tribune.

The Coyote Station Power Plant is a coal-fired power station south of Beulah, North Dakota, with four owners and operated by Otter Tail Power, Fergus Falls, MN.

It currently receives its coal from the last union-operated coal mine in North Dakota: the Dakota Westmoreland.

In four years, 2016, the contract between the power plant and the coal mine will end. The power plant has announced that it will get its coal from a new non-union mine:

The Coyote Station owners announced last month they’ll switch to a new coal provider starting May 2016.

North American, owner of the two largest coal mines in the state and both non-union, will open a new mine they’re calling Coyote Creek Mining Co. just west of Dakota Westmoreland’s open coal pits.

Coyote Creek Mining Co. exists in coal lease documents for now. The Public Service Commission must issue a mining permit and North American won’t make application for the 13-square-mile reserve area until next year or possibly 2014, says its spokesman David Straley.

The contract would expire in 2040.

As usual, lots of story lines. Go to the link for more information.