The Associated Press

Sat, Feb 16, 2008 (2:31 a.m.)

Sen. Barack Obama won the support Friday of the 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union, his second endorsement in as many days from large labor organizations and a fresh sign of momentum in the Democratic presidential race with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"There has never been a fight in Illinois or a fight in the nation where our members have not asked Barack Obama for assistance and he has not done everything he could to help us," Andy Stern, the union's president, told reporters in announcing the decision.

Stern said that in the months since union leaders met with several Democratic candidates last fall, "the excitement has been building and building for Obama."

The politically active union represents workers in health care, building services and other industries. It has donated more than $25 million to candidates in the past two decades, most of it to Democrats.

For Obama, the endorsement offers a chance to increase support in the primary states that are scheduled to vote in the next few weeks, particularly Ohio and Texas on March 4 and Pennsylvania on April 22.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sen. Barack Obama is poised to get a coveted endorsement from the Service Employees International Union, which could give his campaign a major boost going into the March primaries in Ohio and Texas against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

SEIU describes itself as the largest union in the country, with 1.8 million members, and its endorsement has been highly sought by the Democratic candidates because of its manpower and war chest. The organization has donated more than $25 million, mostly to Democratic candidates, since 1989.

The union is likely to endorse Obama on Friday, union officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The officials cautioned that the union was still voting, but Obama was "99 percent" likely to get the endorsement, one said.

SEIU President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger have scheduled a teleconference for Friday.

Separately Thursday, Obama won the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers. With SEIU, it would be Obama's third endorsement from the Change to Win labor federation. He was endorsed by UNITE HERE in January.

Obama also was endorsed earlier this month by the Transport Workers Union and the National Weather Service Employees Organization.

Clinton has at least 12 union endorsements, the latest coming from the United Farm Workers, also a Change to Win member.

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On the Net:

http://www.barackobama.com

http://www.seiu.org

http://www.ufcw.org