Teamsters to endorse Obama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Teamsters union, which represents 1.25 million U.S. transportation workers, is expected to endorse Barack Obama to become the Democratic presidential candidate, a union spokesman said on Wednesday.

The support would give the Illinois senator a big boost ahead of critical contests in Texas and Ohio on March 4 in his state-by-state battle with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for the November election.

The union's executive board will meet with Obama in Texas on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to announce the endorsement soon after, Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell said.

The endorsement would allow Obama, who would become the first black U.S. president, to tap into the union's organizational resources.

Last week Obama won the endorsement of the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union, which represents health care and other service industry workers.

(Editing by David Storey)