Service Employees Union Backs Obama, Hoping to Help in Texas

Today, the ginormous 2-million-member Service Employees International Union, which reps everyone from nurses to janitors, endorsed Barack Obama for president of the U.S. and A. Which is no small thing: Says the union in its media release, it has “more than 150,000 members in the upcoming primary states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.” And, says the Austin American-Statesman this afternoon, “The union has strong ties in Latino communities, considered a Clinton stronghold, and a concentrated presence in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, officials said.” Who knows, it just might cut into Clinton’s lead in Texas — which, according to this just-out poll from the Texas Credit Union League, is currently at 49 percent of those surveyed to Obama’s 41 percent. –Robert Wilonsky