They’re like the Disciples, only they beat the piss out of people they disagree with.

(Politico) — In a widely expected move, the AFL-CIO, the largest labor organization in the United States, endorsed President Obama for reelection Tuesday.

“With our endorsement today, we affirm our faith in him — and pledge to work with him through the election and his second term to restore fairness, security and shared prosperity,” AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a statement.

Underscoring the occasionally strained relationship between the Obama administration and the broader labor movement, Trumka acknowledged past difficulties and differences while praising the president’s underlying values and commitment to working Americans.

The organization “has sometimes differed with the president and often pushed his administration to do more and do it faster,” Trumka said. But “we have never doubted his commitment to working families.”

The AFL-CIO slammed the remaining Republican presidential contenders as being defenders of privilege and opponents of working people.

“Obama honors the values of hard work, of mutual respect and of solving problems together — not every person for himself or herself. He believes that together we will get through the most challenging economic crisis in memory and restore opportunity for all,” Trumka said. “Each of the Republican presidential candidates, on the other hand, has pledged to uphold the special privileges of Wall Street and the 1 percent — privileges that have produced historic economic inequality and drowned out the voices of working people in America.”