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Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labour Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions. Spain’s prime minister still likes to brandish his union card. In America the links have become more explicit. Between 1989 and 2004 the biggest spender in federal elections was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and $39.4m of the $40m it shelled out over that period went to Democrats. One in ten of the delegates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver was a teacher.
At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labour groups on health care. It was the big public-sector unions which squashed the 2005 reforms proposed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, then California’s governor.
In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.

A. 어휘
dominate 主導(주도)하다. left-of-centre 중도좌파.
implies 암시하다. trade unionism 노동조합주의. current 현재의.
owes A to B. A를 B에 신세지다. brandish 무기를 휘두르다.
explicit 명백한. federal elections 연방선거. Federation 연맹, 협회, 연방.
Municipal 市(시)의. shelled out 돈을 건네주다.
Democrats 민주당원. delegates 代議員(대의원).
Democratic National Convention 민주당전국대회.
Public Policy Institute 공공정책연구소.
CCPOA: California Correctional Peace Officers Association 캘리포니아 도관협회.
squash 눌러 으깨다, 진압하다. governor 주지사. average 평균.
work practices 근무상황. “backloaded” 뒤로 봐주다.
modest 온건한. pensions 연금.