AFL-CIO votes to endorse Obama

The general board of the AFL-CIO voted Thursday afternoon to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), launching a massive grassroots effort to “re-introduce” Obama to working-class voters who have been slow to embrace his candidacy.

The union hailed Obama as a “champion for working families,” despite his difficulty attracting white working-class voters in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and other states he lost during the Democratic primary.

{mosads}Seeking to boost Obama’s standing among union members, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney praised the candidate’s record.

“He’s a champion for working families who knows what it’s going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy,” Sweeney said. “We’re proud to stand with Sen. Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children.”

The AFL-CIO has canvassed union households since March, criticizing the expected Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s (Ariz.) record on trade and healthcare.

Thursday’s vote to endorse Obama marks a significant expansion of the union’s political activities that will continue over the next four and a half months in 17 presidential battleground states.

Now, in addition to attacking McCain, the union will focus on “reintroducing” Obama to working-class voters, said an AFL-CIO official.

Since the early spring, the AFL-CIO has distributed 1.5 million leaflets at union work sites on McCain’s record.

The AFL-CIO has vowed to contact more than 13 million voters in battleground states and contact some swing voters as many as 30 times.

The leaders of the AFL-CIO’s member unions voted to endorse Obama without opposition.

The union’s executive council has budgeted $53.4 million for political activities this election cycle, more than the union has ever spent in a cycle.