WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president, two Democratic sources tell CNN.

Obama is scheduled to meet with Teamster President James Hoffa in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
The union is expected to announce its endorsement soon after the meeting, AP reported.

The 1.4 million-member Teamsters union is the third labor organization to throw its support behind the senator from Illinois in less than a week.

The 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union endorsed him Friday and the 1.3-million member United Food and Commercial Workers Union endorsed him on Thursday.

A union's endorsement can give a candidate's campaign a significant boost because union members often act as "ground troops" to canvass neighborhoods and work the phones.

Obama has been on a political roll since Super Tuesday two weeks ago. He has won 10 straight Democratic contests, including the Wisconsin primary and Hawaii caucuses on Tuesday.

The union endorsement could help Obama in his struggle against Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, particularly among the lower-income voters Clinton is targeting.

Exit polls of Wisconsin voters suggested that Obama was winning over some blue collar voters, a group that had voted for Clinton in previous primaries and caucuses.

Among Wisconsin voters making between $15,000 and $30,000 a year, Obama edged out Clinton 52 percent to 46 percent. Obama had a 56 percent to 44 percent advantage over Clinton among voters making between $30,000 and $50,000.

The Teamsters' backing may also help Obama in Ohio, which holds primaries on March 4, and Pennsylvania, which holds its primary on April 22.

According to AP, Ohio and Pennsylvania have some of the highest levels of unionization in the country. More than 15 percent of the Pennsylvania's workforce are union members, and over 14 of Ohio's workers are unionized.

There is no guarantee, however, that a big union endorsement will lead to a delegate carrying a state.

Before the Nevada caucuses in January, Obama won the support of the Culinary Workers Union and the Service Employees International Union of Nevada. Clinton, however, carried the state over Obama, by 51 percent to 45percent.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/...ama/index.html

He's got my Vote...