Kirkendoll, speaking from his office in the Logan County Courthouse yesterday afternoon, said thousands have already signed up to attend the Labor Day concert and rally, which will feature country music star Hank Williams Jr., John Rich of the country duo Big and Rich, rocker Ted Nugent as the emcee and Fox New's Sean Hannity.
Kirkendoll said he expects the rally to be one of the biggest gatherings in support of labor in the country.
"We anticipate 100,000 people attending," Kirkendoll said. "It's just been advertised and already we have 25,000 signed up for tickets. It could end up being the largest gathering of people rallying for a common cause — ever — regarding working class people in the history of America."
Kirkendoll said the rally isn't just about coal. It's about jobs in general.
"This is a rally for working families and people who think they're ability to earn a living in America is being challenged and threatened," Kirkendoll said. "It's just a rally for everyone to come together and say 'Look, we want the ability to earn a quality living in America and we're here as a group to let everybody know that's what we stand for.
"This is absolutely supporting coal, but a lot of people think that domestic jobs are threatened, in general. Naturally, coal is being threatened. But, if they shut the coal mines down, a lot of people will lose their jobs. This is a total rally-cry to let the people in Washington know that we need a session in Congress where we work on domestic issues and get our American people back to work and quit outsourcing all of our jobs and importing all of our goods to where we are putting our people on the sidelines. That's what this is all about."
The Friends of America rally will be held at a reclaimed surface mine site on 22 Mine Road on Holden Mountain, which Kirkendoll said is the perfect place.
"I think it's a great place to have it," Kirkendoll said. "It is right on the county line and one of the few areas where you could put 100,000 people on and have 10,000 to 20,000 parking spots and have busses coming and going. It is a place that can accommodate that many people and there are very few places in West Virginia that can hold 100,000 people."
Kirkendoll said he expects nationwide news coverage of the event.
"With Sean Hannity, Hank, Ted Nugent and John Rich, those are well-known people who have national acclaim attached to their names," Kirkendoll said. "Fox will probably show the rally worldwide with Hannity on there."
The rally is being financed primarily by Massey Energy, but, Kirkendoll said other coal companies, like ICG, are also involved.
"It's everybody," Kirkendoll said. "They don't care if there are non-union and union people there. This is about people who feel their job is threatened. This is about people having the ability to have a job. You'll have coal vendors and business people that have regular businesses involved in this. It's going to be huge."
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