165-1-745
IF JIMMY HOFFA were reincarnated as a modern trade unionist, he would probably represent civil servants. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their brethren in the private sector. In continental Europe most civil servants belong to unions, though these generally straddle the private sector as well. In Britain more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionised.
There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ clout. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. There are some Luddites left, such as Bob Crow of London’s perennially striking Tube drivers. But it is much harder to argue with Randi Weingarten, the articulate head of the American Federation of Teachers. Most workers in the public sector are women, and many of them are professional types. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Officers of the British Medical Association (which represents doctors) and America’s National Education Association (the biggest teachers’ union) often appear on the news as experts on health and education rather than as representatives of interest groups.

A. 어휘
barrier 장애물, 방벽. unions 勞組(노조). reincarnate 환생시키다, 化身(화신)하다.
trade unionist 노동조합주의자. represent 대표하다.
Teamsters 수송트럭운전자. prime 한창 때. brethren 동포, 동업자.
continental Europe 유럽대륙. straddle 양다리를 걸치다.
clout 영향력, 권력, 强打(강타). in the way of consequences 결과의 면에서.
Luddites 영국의 산업혁명당시 실직을 두려워하여 기계를 파괴하면 폭동을 일으킨 직공단원. 기계화나 자동화에 반대하는 사람들.
left 左派(좌파). perennially striking 매년 파업을 일으키는.
Tube 지하철. articulate 명료한, 理路整然(이로정연)한.
Federation 연합, 연방. experts 전문가. representatives 대표자, 국회의원.