Change To Win Union Endorses Obama

[babylonsister]

Change To Win has officially decided to throw its endorsement behind Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), according to Anna Burger, the chair of the group.

"Change to Win is excited to announce the endorsement of Barack Obama for President. We are the unions that organize and mobilize working people and believe that we can make a huge difference on the ground in the upcoming primaries. Change To Win is the new labor movement, the labor movement of the 21st century and we are excited about our ability to make a difference."

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UPDATE, 4:00 p.m. Eastern time: An astute reader notes that the Farm Workers had previously endorsed Hillary Clinton in late January. That means that either the Change To Win endorsement of Barack Obama -- if it happens -- won't be unanimous or it will be a HUGE story that the Farm Workers changed candidate. The former scenario is far more likely.

ORIGINAL POST

Change To Win, the rump group of labor organizations that broke off from AFL-CIO in 2005, will hold a conference call tomorrow morning to consider an endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), according to sources familiar with the group's thinking.

The leadership council of Change To Win, which includes the presidents of the seven member unions as well as chair Anna Burger and two other members, will convene tomorrow at 10 a.m. to consider a potential endorsement.

Of the group's seven member unions, four have endorsed Obama: Service Employees International Union, UNITE Here, Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers. For Change To Win to offer a formal endorsement, two-thirds of the member unions or unions representing two-thirds of the total membership must agree on a single candidate. There may well be a desire to offer a unanimous endorsement, however, which would mean the Laborers International Union, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and the United Farm Workers would have to jump on board with Obama.

The support from Change To Win would be yet another piece in Obama's winning puzzle for the nomination. Labor had largely split in the early days of the race -- the AFL-CIO chose not to endorse and other major unions like SEIU were unable to come to a consensus pick. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees was a rare exception -- weighing in on behalf of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

more...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/change_to_win_to_consider_obam.html

[Thrill]

1. Another Good One!!

Keep them coming!!

[OhioChick]

2. Good to Hear! n/t

[Renew Deal]

3. Did Obama get the farm workers with that?

Maybe????

"The endorsement comes after a teleconference between Change to Win's leaders and the heads of the seven unions that make up the 6 million member federation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvzT8keHzVS3YjP8BJDDrf64A_AwD8UUQBDG0

[babylonsister]

4. I think this is the umbrella group that covers all those unions,

so yes. This seems to be the official announcement. If I'm wrong, I hope someone corrects me.

[Renew Deal]

6. Farmers would have to unendorse Hillary.

That would probably be the death of her campaign.

[babylonsister]

7. Maybe that's the next bombshell? I seem to recall reading something

about that yesterday. I've googled, but this story is slow to break; this is the only source I find on it so far.

On edit: I still don't know:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvzT8keHzVS3YjP8BJDDrf64A_AwD8UUQDUO0

It was not immediately known what the endorsement means for the United Farm Workers, who endorsed Obama's opponent, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. It is also unclear what it means for the federation's two uncommitted unions, the Laborers' International Union and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. The Carpenters and Joiners union had originally endorsed John Edwards, who has since dropped out of the race.

[Thrill]

8. If true thats big news

[catgirl]

5. Great!!!

I think it's time Hillary closes shop.

[AtomicKitten]

9. Very nice endorsement!

K&R :)

[K Gardner]

10. K&R

[Cha]

11. Change to Win! How appropriate on

so many levels!

[babylonsister]

12. Union group: Clinton may need to exit soon

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/change_to_win_endorses_barack.html

Union group: Clinton may need to exit soon

by John McCormick


AUSTIN, Texas -- Major organized labor endorsements continue to be delivered to Sen. Barack Obama, with union leaders increasingly sending signals that they believe the time is rapidly approaching for Sen. Hillary Clinton to exit the Democratic nomination race.

"We do think it is time to bring this nomination process to a close," said Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win, an umbrella group that represents seven unions with 6 million members.

Burger made the comment during a conference call with reporters to announce the group's endorsement for Obama.

"There is certainly a movement blowing here," she said, adding that it may be time for Clinton to "recognize" that Obama is benefiting from that desire for change.

"Every time there is a primary, he surges forward," Burger said. "It looks like he is going to be the nominee...We are hoping to get to that point sooner than later."

Burger said Change to Win has 175,000 members in Ohio and 60,000 in Texas. Those states will hold primaries on March 4 and are increasingly being viewed as must-wins for Clinton.

Of the group's seven unions, four had already endorsed the Illinois Democrat: the Service Employees International Union, UNITE Here, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers.