United Steelworkers back Barack Obama

The United Steelworkers union said Thursday it is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat, for president.

The union had previously supported John Edwards, a Democratic former senator from North Carolina, over his desire to change unfair trade policies, increase union participation in workplaces and create universal health care.

But the union's International Executive Board unanimously voted Thursday to agree with Edwards' decision to endorse Obama.

Content Continues Below

Edwards, who dropped his campaign in February, announced Wednesday he was supporting Obama.

"America's workers cannot afford another four years of rehashed Bush administration policies, another four years in which the National Labor Relations Board shills for corporate misconduct, or another four years of a Secretary of the Treasury who considers it his "job" to bail out Wall Street speculators at the expense of hard working families losing their homes," the union said in a statement.

The steelworkers union is the largest industrial labor union in the United States, claiming 1.2 million active and retired members.