Mine workers endorse Obama

Democrat Barack Obama has added another major union endorsement, with today's vote by the United Mine Workers of America.

“We are extremely proud to make this endorsement today,” the union's international President, Cecil E. Roberts, said in a statement. “Sen. Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families.

“We looked at the positions of both Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain when considering this endorsement,” Roberts said in the statement provided by the Obama campaign. “On issue after issue, it is clear that Sen. Obama will be on our side while Sen. McCain will not."

The UMWA claims 105,000 active and retired coal miners, mine construction workers, public service employees, health care workers and manufacturing workers in the United States and Canada.

UPDATE: Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, responded: "The short-sighted partisan dogma of Big Labor bosses is rarely, if ever, demonstrated more clearly than the United Mine Workers of America endorsement of Barack Obama -- a candidate who supports raising taxes on coal. It’s hard to imagine anything less beneficial for rank-and-file miners than a President who supports raising taxes on their product."