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Public-sector unions are some of the world’s most powerful interest groups. Many of them have large memberships and comparably large wallets: the American National Education Association, the main teachers’ union, has 3.2m members, an annual budget of over $300m and a vibrant tradition of political activism. But their influence goes much deeper. In many countries unions prop up the left. In Britain Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour Party, owes his job to trade-union votes. In America Andy Stern, the head of the Service Employees International Union, was the most frequent guest at the White House in the first six months of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Public-sector unions enjoy advantages that their private-sector rivals only dream of. As providers of vital monopoly services, they can close down entire cities. And as powerful political machines, they can help to pick the people who sit on the other side of the bargaining table. Daniel DiSalvo, the author of an excellent essay on America’s public-sector unions in National Affairs, points out that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was the biggest contributor to political campaigns in 1989-2004. He also notes that such influence is more decisive in local campaigns, where turnout is low, than in national ones.

A. 어휘
interest groups 이익집단. wallets 지갑. annual budget 연간예산.
vibrant 힘찬, 진동하는. prop up 떠받치다. Employees 피고용자.
vital 생기 넘치는, 절대로 필요한. monopoly 독점.
services (전기, 수도, 통신, 교육 등) 3차 산업. bargaining table 협상테이블.
Municipal 市(시)의, 지방의. contributor 獻金人(헌금인), 기부인, 기여자.
local campaigns 지방선거. turnout 투표자 수.