Kerry wins endorsement from major union organization

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 20, 2004

Kerry wins endorsement from major union organization

Senator John Kerry, the Democratic front-runner for the party's nomination, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO on Thursday, strengthening his leading position over John Edwards, his only major rival.

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Senator John Kerry, the Democratic front-runner for the party's nomination, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO on Thursday, strengthening his leading position over John Edwards, his only major rival.

"Today we stand united in a common cause and that common cause is not just to defeat George Bush, but it is to put our country back on track, on the road of prosperity, the road of fairness, the road of jobs," Kerry told supporters.

Calling Kerry, a four-term senator from Massachusetts, a friend of the working people, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, urged labor to stand with one candidate. "The time has come to unite behind one man, one leader, one candidate," he said.

The AFL-CIO, which is composed of 64 unions representing more than 13 million US workers, is planning to mobilize their members to vote for Kerry.

The endorsement came when Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, started a tour to some states that have lost manufacturing jobs. Edwards have attacked Kerry for voting for the1993 North American Free Trade Agreement that many blame for job losses in the country.

Kerry has won 15 of the 17 primaries and caucuses held so far, while Edwards has won only one contest, in South Carolina, where he was born.

Four people, including Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich and Reverend Al Sharpton, a human rights activist from New York, are still in the race for the nomination.

The battle for the Democratic nomination is likely to end on "Super Tuesday" on March 2, when 10 states will hold primaries and caucuses, considering Kerry's leading both in money and momentum, analysts said.

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