WASHINGTON (CNN) - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will be endorsed by a major carpenters' union at a rally next week, the Edwards campaign announced Thursday.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters, a union representing more than 500,000 carpenters and tradespeople, did not endorse anyone during the last presidential election. The union's executive board chose to support Edwards after meeting with him in Las Vegas last week.
"Our endorsement is based on the Senator's outspoken support for all of organized labor and his focus on America's working families," Carpenters' President Douglas J. McCarron said. "In addition to his support for labor, our leadership was particularly impressed with the Senator's strong stand on trade."
Edwards has been focusing on what he calls building "One America," which would strengthen the middle class by increasing wages, establishing universal health care and protecting unions.
"I am honored to receive the support of the Carpenters Union," said Edwards. "For more than a century, they have been fighting for working Americans and standing up for the values that have made our country great – hard work, responsibility, and fairness. America was built by men and women who worked with their hands, and it's labor that made our country great."
The union will formally endorse Edwards at a rally in New Hampshire on September 8.
–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich