Aug. 13--How much of the Labor Day rally organized by Don Blankenship and several others will be entertainment and how much will be politics?

With country music star Hank Williams Jr. among the scheduled performers, there's no doubt there will be entertainment. But there will be politics, too -- both onstage and behind the scenes.

The onstage politics is obvious. One of the announced speakers is Christopher Monckton, a former science adviser to Margaret Thatcher who denies that global warming exists. Sean Hannity, a conservative radio and television host, is another. Blankenship, who is chief executive officer of Massey Energy Co., is also on the program. (Could this turn into a Fidel Castro-style speech marathon? Attendees would be rude to complain -- they'll get in for free.)

Then there's the behind-the-scenes politics.

It's clever that the rally will be at Holden, on a reclaimed strip, er, surface mine that is now a business park.

That Blankenship's Massey Energy, which is notoriously anti-union, is sponsoring a rally on, of all days, Labor Day, is a slap in the face of unions.

Add the fact that the Blankenship rally is on the very day the United Mine Workers of America has its picnic at Racine and you've got the equivalent to a kick in the shins. This is the union's 81st annual picnic.

Yep, it's a feud.

The union fired its latest salvo at Blankenship in the May/June issue of the UMWA Journal. The magazine contains a scathing review of Blankenship's reign at Massey titled, "Don's World." The subtitle: "Massey Energy's CEO defines a rogue coal company."

Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts says in the article, "Coal can be mined in an environmentally responsible way. But in many respects, Massey has chosen not to do it that way, and the result has been to give the coal industry a black eye. As public scrutiny gets raised about coal and coal mining, Massey gives those who oppose the use of coal something to point to as they bad-mouth our entire industry."

During a press conference announcing the rally, Massey spokesman Jeff Gillenwater said organizers aren't trying to compete with the union picnic (the events are 43 miles apart). But with big entertainment names scheduled to appear at Holden and free admission, the Blankenship rally is destined to upstage the picnic.

An added bonus for Blankenship's backers: their rally and what's said by the paid celebrities who speak there will probably dominate the entire, long, holiday weekend news cycle.

Blankenship's rally also seems designed to upstage the West Virginia Coal Association. Massey Energy is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia but the company does not belong to the association.

The association has organized "Friends of Coal," a volunteer auxiliary with free membership. The Friends' mission: "Providing a united voice for an industry that has been and remains a critical economic contributor to West Virginia."

Last year Friends of Coal was said to have more than 2,700 members. But Blankenship's group sounds much bigger. It's called "Friends of America."

Contact business editor George Hohmann at business@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.

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