Health bill gets major labor endorsement

The Democrats' healthcare bill earned a major endorsement from labor Thursday as Change to Win, a labor umbrella organization backed by the SEIU, announced its support.

The announcement came soon after the Congressional Budget Office gave its score of the reconciliation package of fixes to the bill that Democrats viewed as widely positive.

"It is time for Congress members to decide on which side of history will they stand," Anna Burger, who heads the 5.5 million member organization, said. "They must choose between working families struggling to get by and an insurance industry that puts profits before the people they are supposed to serve."

The SEIU has been a consistent backer of the White House during the healthcare debate but the announcement marks one of the first major endorsements of the package after the CBO released its score.

AFL-CIO, the largest labor union federation in the country, has still not issued an official decision on whether to endorse the bill but is expected to release a statement after meeting with its executive council today.

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