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The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) endorsed Sen.(I-Vt.) for president on Thursday, giving Sanders an influential ally as he scraps to keep pace within the race for labor support.In a statement, APWU president Mark Dimondstein, whose group counts some 200,000 postal employees, called Sanders a “true champion” for union rights and said his members will back the Vermont Senator because they’re tired of the status quo.“Politics as usual has not worked. It’s time for a political revolution,” Dimondstein said.“We should judge candidates not by their political party, not by what they say, not by what they think they stand for, but by what they do,” he continued. “Applying that criterion, Sen. Bernie Sanders stands above all others as a true champion of postal workers and other workers throughout the country. He doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk. He is a leader in the fight to protect the public Postal Service.”Sanders has been courting the APWU for months, first meeting with board members over the summer and later addressing activists at a conference in Las Vegas.Dimondstein said the group’s endorsement went beyond Sanders’s commitment to policies that specifically have an impact on postal workers, but rather extends to his commitment to liberal policies aimed at bolstering labor groups and supporting low wage workers in general.“No other candidate has his record of standing with workers on picket lines, fighting for a $15 per hour minimum wage, supporting free public college tuition, and advocating for veterans’ benefits,” Dimondstein said. “And 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 trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership.”Sanders and Clinton have been battling for the support of the nation’s union groups for months.The former secretary of State holds the edge, counting a half-dozen national unions with memberships in the millions in her corner. The postal workers endorsement is only the second national labor group to back Sanders, along with National Nurses United.Some of the nation’s largest labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, have yet to endorse.