AFL-CIO, Largest Union Federation in the U.S., Endorses Hillary Clinton

The AFL-CIO — the union group which represents more than 12.5 million workers — endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for president Thursday.

Clinton's commitment to working families and her shared values with the organization led to the endorsement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a press release. Other AFL-CIO leaders, such as chair of the AFL-CIO Political Committee Lee Saunders, praised Clinton while offering a scathing critique of her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

"This election offers a stark choice between an unstoppable champion for working families and an unstable charlatan who made his fortune scamming them," Saunders said in the endorsement. "Working people know that Hillary Clinton has the temperament and experience to unite all Americans in our fight to increase incomes at home and extinguish threats abroad."

Trump immediately responded with a statement portraying the AFL-CIO as a corrupt organization. 

"Sadly with this endorsement of Hillary Clinton - who is totally owned by Wall Street - the leadership of the AFL-CIO has made clear that it no longer represents American workers. Instead they have become part of the rigged system in Washington, D.C. that benefits only the insiders," Trump said in the statement.

Trump offered several other critiques of Clinton in his statement. Trump said Clinton would destroy communities "on trade, immigration, crime, energy, taxes, regulation and everything else" and that she wants to bring people into the United States that "support the murder of gays and the enslavement of women."

The AFL-CIO decided to endorse Clinton after a year-long democratic process within its membership. The union group does not endorse candidates for president unless two-thirds of its general board votes in favor of that candidate, the AFL-CIO statement says.

The endorsement is a multi-faceted win for Clinton. The presumptive democratic nominee will receive both the tangible support of the AFL-CIO's targeted ground campaign and also a boost to her image as a fighter for the working class.