Bernie Sanders picked up a major union endorsement Thursday from the American Postal Workers Union, or APWU.
The announcement is huge for Sanders, as his rival Hillary Clinton is being supported by the first- and third-largest unions in the nation: the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
The APWU represents 200,000 U.S. Postal Service workers past and present from across all 50 states. Before the union’s board announced its decision to back the Vermont senator, he had only picked up the endorsement of the 190,000 members of Nationals Nurses United.
“We should judge candidates not by their political party, not by what they say, not by what we think they stand for, but by what they do,” union President Mark Dimondstein said in a statement. “Applying that criteria, Sen. Bernie Sanders stands above all others as a true champion of postal workers and other workers throughout the country.”
— APWU National (@APWUnational) October 18, 2015
Dimondstein also referenced Sanders’ push for a $15 minimum wage, free public college tuition and better veterans’ benefits.
“No other candidate has his record of fighting to defend and expand Social Security, promoting ‘Medicare for all,’ and opposing ‘fast track trade authority’ and rotten deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP),” the union president added.
The union also pointed to Sanders’ speech to a union conference in Las Vegas in October. “He is a fierce advocate of postal reform to address the cause of the USPS financial crisis, an outspoken opponent of USPS policy that degrades mail service. He fought the close of post offices and spearheaded the effort to pass a ‘sense of the Senate’ resolution to restore service standards, which was approved by a vote of 85-11,” Dimondstein said. “Bernie Sanders doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk. He is a leader in the fight to protect our public Postal Service.”
The endorsement couldn’t come at a better time for Sanders, who still trails Clinton in all national polls. In a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Clinton has 54.2 percent of the vote, and Sanders has 32.6 percent.
