Dodd, Clinton pick up first big union endorsements

Democrat Chris Dodd picked up a key endorsement today, from the same union that helped propel John F. Kerry to the Democratic nomination in 2004.

The International Association of Firefighters said it will back the senator from Connecticut, who is striving to break out of the second tier of candidates and compete with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

The 280,000-strong firefighters union can funnel volunteers and money to Dodd, particularly in the early voting states. The Associated Press reported that union president Harold Schaitberger was expected to announce the endorsement at a news conference in Washington Wednesday morning. Dodd and Schaitberger were then scheduled to travel together to Iowa for a full day of appearances Thursday, followed by joint campaign events in New Hampshire on Friday and Nevada on Saturday.

Earlier today, Hillary Clinton announced that she has the support of the United Transportation Union, the first endorsement by a national union so far in the 2008 campaign.

The union represents 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, and public transit workers. "The UTU has a long history of picking winners early. Hillary will be a president that America’s working families can count on. Time and again, as a United States senator, she has stood with us," union President Paul Thompson said in a statement released by Clinton's campaign.

While the national AFL-CIO voted this month to wait on endorsing any of the presidential contenders, its member unions are starting to pick their favorites. Obama and Edwards are also expected to win endorsements as the unions announce their choices leading up to Labor Day. Organized labor is a crucial source of money and volunteers for Democrats, both to win the nomination and in the general election campaign.

The AFL-CIO executive council decided Aug. 8 to defer an endorsement -- freeing its 55 affiliates to make their own decisions -- the day after 17,000 union members crowded Soldier Field in Chicago to hear the Democratic hopefuls make their pitches. The executive committee put off an endorsement because at least two-thirds of its members could not settle on a candidate.