"Obama Wins Indiana And Illinois SEIU"

Greg Sargent (TPM):

At pretty much exactly the same time that the Edwards campaign wrapped up its conference call touting his Iowa SEIU endorsement, the Obama camp sent out a release trying to steal Edwards' labor thunder with a couple SEIU endorsements of its own.He's picked up the support of the SEIU in Indiana and in his home state of Illinois -- that latter local being one of the ones that stopped the national SEIU from making an endorsement. The campaign's release is after the jump.

The Illinois State Council of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Indiana SEIU representing more than 170,000 workers has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President. The union of healthcare workers, security guards, janitors, public workers, home healthcare and childcare workers has a long-standing relationship with Senator Obama and is proud to support his candidacy.

Tom Balanoff, President of the SEIU Illinois State Council, cited Obama’s commitment to expanding access to affordable healthcare and to protecting workers’ rights as among the biggest reasons for his union’s early endorsement.

In announcing the SEIU’s endorsement, President Balanoff called Obama, “a real fighter for working families with a proven track record of getting things done.” Balanoff also cited Obama’s early opposition to the Iraq War as proof positive that he has the judgment and vision necessary to serve in the nation’s highest office.

Illinois SEIU is widely recognized as one of the most effective political organizations in the state and is committed to helping organize thousands of its members to volunteer on the Senator’s presidential campaign. Already, hundreds of members are volunteering to phone bank, door knock and to travel to neighboring states to support Obama’s presidential bid.