Private v. Public

"When public-sector workers were first joining unions in the '60s, they were largely playing catch-up with private-sector employees. But as Wal-Mart has supplanted General Motors as America's largest private employer (and GM announced a cutback of 25,000 more workers Tuesday), it's the teachers and their public-sector cohorts who have emerged as the relatively more advantaged--and politically exposed."

Harold Meyerson, in The American Prospect, explains how public-sector unions are now in the sights of conservatives.