By Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau

JACKSONVILLE — The Florida AFL-CIO Sunday endorsed Rep. Kendrick Meek for the U.S. Senate, along with an all-Democrat slate of state office seekers.

Gov. Charlie Crist had asked for labor’s endorsement Friday in his independent race for the Senate. The largest union in the state federation, the Florida Education Association, gave a joint recommendation to Meek and Crist, but did not try to block the two-thirds vote by the AFL-CIO delegates for the Miami Gardens congressman.

Meek addressed the convention on Saturday, calling Crist an unreliable newcomer to labor issues. Meek said he has posted grades of 95 to 100 percent on union voting tallies in Washington and as a state legislator in Tallahassee.

The AFL-CIO also endorsed Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for governor, former state Rep. Loranne Ausley of Tallahassee for CFO and ex-Mayor Scott Maddox of Tallahassee for agriculture commissioner.

The union delegates, meeting behind closed doors, could not decide between state Sens. David Aronberg of Greenacres and Dan Gelber of Miami Beach for attorney general. The AFL-CIO therefore endorsed the “winner of the Democratic primary” in that race.