CLEVELAND -- Mayor Frank Jackson announced his endorsement
for presidential candidate Barack Obama.
The announcement came directly before Michelle Obama began speaking at a Rally around 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Cleveland State University.
"As the Mayor of Cleveland I know first hand the struggles that working families face, and how desperately we need a new direction in Washington," said Mayor Jackson. "Sen. Obama provides the real change Americans so urgently need, and has spent his life fighting for working families. He is committed to revitalizing the urban core of America, fighting poverty, bringing good-paying jobs back to Ohio, and lowering health care costs. Senator Obama is committed to improving the lives of the least of us. He provides hope to those who need it most. He will fix what is wrong in America today. That's why I am endorsing Senator Obama to be the next President. He will bring change we can believe in."
The new Change to Win labor federation also announced Thursday it will give its first presidential endorsement to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, a union official told The Associated Press.
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 conditions of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet.
Four of Change to Win's unions had already endorsed Obama, with the Teamsters endorsing Obama on Wednesday. UNITE HERE, the Service Employee International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers also have endorsed Obama.
The Change to Win endorsement gives Obama a boost in the upcoming March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, as well as in Pennsylvania on April 22. There were 830,000 union workers in Pennsylvania and 730,000 in Ohio in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some of the largest numbers of unionized workers in the nation.
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.
The unions in the Change to Win federation broke from the AFL-CIO in 2005 over internal disagreements on how best to build organized labor's membership and political clout.
The AFL-CIO has not endorsed any candidate in the Democratic primary, although it has allowed its 56-member unions to make individual endorsements. The AFL-CIO's executive council will meet in San Diego March 3-5, and a decision could be announced.
The announcement came directly before Michelle Obama began speaking at a Rally around 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Cleveland State University.
"As the Mayor of Cleveland I know first hand the struggles that working families face, and how desperately we need a new direction in Washington," said Mayor Jackson. "Sen. Obama provides the real change Americans so urgently need, and has spent his life fighting for working families. He is committed to revitalizing the urban core of America, fighting poverty, bringing good-paying jobs back to Ohio, and lowering health care costs. Senator Obama is committed to improving the lives of the least of us. He provides hope to those who need it most. He will fix what is wrong in America today. That's why I am endorsing Senator Obama to be the next President. He will bring change we can believe in."
The new Change to Win labor federation also announced Thursday it will give its first presidential endorsement to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, a union official told The Associated Press.
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 conditions of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet.
Four of Change to Win's unions had already endorsed Obama, with the Teamsters endorsing Obama on Wednesday. UNITE HERE, the Service Employee International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers also have endorsed Obama.
The Change to Win endorsement gives Obama a boost in the upcoming March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, as well as in Pennsylvania on April 22. There were 830,000 union workers in Pennsylvania and 730,000 in Ohio in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some of the largest numbers of unionized workers in the nation.
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.
The unions in the Change to Win federation broke from the AFL-CIO in 2005 over internal disagreements on how best to build organized labor's membership and political clout.
The AFL-CIO has not endorsed any candidate in the Democratic primary, although it has allowed its 56-member unions to make individual endorsements. The AFL-CIO's executive council will meet in San Diego March 3-5, and a decision could be announced.