Gephardt leads in union picks, for now

Until now, Richard Gephardt has had a virtual stranglehold on the endorsements of major labor unions, a bedrock party constituency that provides ground troops for the campaign.

That could change Thursday if the Service Employees International Union tips to Howard Dean. The executive board of the 1.6 million-member union is scheduled to meet in Washington, and "It's Dean or no one," an union spokeswoman said.

There has been heavy lobbying by Dean opponents to forestall an endorsementby the racially diverse union, the largest affiliate under the 64-union umbrella of the AFL-CIO. SEIU represents 3,000 members in Iowa and more than 6.700 in New Hampshire.

To date, Gephardt has won endorsements from 19 AFL-CIO unions, representing 35 percent of the AFL-CIO's 13.2 million members, along with one small independent union. John Kerry has the support of two unions, and Dean recently won his first national union endorsement.