United Food and Commercial Workers endorse Barack Obama

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) -- Sen. Barack Obama has won the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers, a politically active union with significant membership in the upcoming Democratic battlegrounds.

The 1.3-million member UFCW gives Obama an organizational boost in vital upcoming contests, with 69,000 members in the Buckeye state and another 26,000 in Texas. The two states have a large number of delegates and are where Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes to stop Obama's winning streak on March 4.

The food workers also have 19,000 members in Wisconsin, which holds a primary Tuesday.

The union is made up of supermarket workers and meatpackers, with 40 percent of the membership under 30 years old. Obama has been doing especially well among young voters.

"Senator Obama's message of changing hope into reality has inspired our members, particularly our young members, across the country," Food Workers President Joe Hansen said in a statement in which he also lauded Clinton's tireless efforts on behalf of workers.

"While both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have a vision to change America, we believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to build a movement to unite our country that will deliver the type of change that is needed for good jobs, affordable health care, retirement security and worker safety," he said. He called Obama "the candidate of the American dream."