Ever hear complaints about big banks, big oil, and big pharma?

I'll bet you have.

But there's another big that you rarely hear about, big unions.

And I'm not talking about private company unions like auto and steel workers.

Only 6.7% of workers belong to private sector unions.

No, I'm talking about public employee unions.

They're very big and very powerful.

Far bigger and more powerful than most people know.

In fact, the impact they have on how state and local governments operate

makes big banks, big oil, and big pharma look small by comparison.

But before I explain why, I should explain who the public employee unions are.

They're the unions that represent policemen, firemen, sanitation workers, teachers,

and the vast army of others, the bureaucrats who administer city, state, and federal government.

The public service unions negotiate on behalf of these workers for their wages, benefits, and working conditions.

And who's on the other side of the bargaining table?

Our elected representatives, the people in charge of spending the money we pay to government in taxes.

Think about this for a moment, and you will immediately realize

that the goal of the public employee unions is to negotiate with union-friendly politicians.

And the way to get friendly with the politician is to help him get elected, which is exactly what the unions do.

First, they have a lot of money.

In many states working for the government is a closed shop.

That is, to work for the government you have to pay dues to the union.

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