AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Donahue said Tuesday he’s proud to have the endorsement of outgoing President Lane Kirkland as he seeks to lead a labor movement that has been under siege in recent years.

“Lane Kirkland served this federation for 26 years as secretarytreasurer and president with great distinction,” Donahue said, as he announced the selection of Barbara Easterling, a coal miner’s daughter nd now top official of the Communications Workers of America, as his running mate.

Donahue, Kirkland’s handpicked successor, is faced off against a longtime friend in the labor movement, John J. Sweeney, president of the Service Employees International Union and leader of the anti-Kirkland movement.