Greg Mahan, president of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local 1969 at Freeman United's Crown II mine, set the tone for the rally. "We will fight like hell to organize that facility. Christian County coal will always be union coal," he said.

Company spokespeople have said the mine would not be a union operation. The county board chairman told the Decatur, Illinois, Herald & Review he didn't think a coal company using nonunion labor would cause much outcry in the community.

Local 1969 member David Yard said 404 miners have died in Christian County mines. He proposed a memorial be built to them. "We won't forget," he declared.

A company spokesman told the Herald & Review he expects the mine will produce up to 3 million tons of coal and employ 500 workers in three to five years. It would be the first large-scale mining operation in Christian County since Peabody's No. 10 mine closed in 1995. Employers shut down many mines in Illinois in the 1990s after the Clean Air Act placed restrictions on pollution from power plant emissions.

The proposed customer of the new mine, Archer Daniels Midland's power generation plant, is fitted with "scrubbers" that remove harmful emissions from the high-sulfur coal.

Figures from the Illinois State Geological Survey show that 4.7 billion tons of coal lie under the hills of Christian County. Sixteen mines have removed 359 million tons since 1889. The Herrin No. 6 seam, which the proposed mine would tap into, has 3.4 billion tons of coal remaining.

The rally to protest the company's nonunion project was held at the courthouse on the central square of the town. Many nearby businesses prominently displayed signs saying, "This establishment supports UMWA members and their families."

In Bill's Toasty Shop, owner Calvin Scallions explained why he gladly posted the sign. "I am a union man. I worked at Allis-Chalmers for 30 years and was a member of the UAW [United Auto Workers]."

The rally was sponsored by UMWA Locals 9819, 2488, 1969, 2802, and 12 in District 12; the Taylorville Trades and Labor Council; and a local of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The president of UMWA District 12, Joe Angelton, attended the rally, which was covered by local media.  
 
 
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