It depends on the country. For many (most?) countries, the education system is dominated by state-run schools. This typically means that there will be one very

It depends on the country. For many (most?) countries, the education system is dominated by state-run schools. This typically means that there will be one very large employer and possibly several much smaller employers (ie private schools). In this scenario, the very large employer wields a disproportionate amount of power. I guess it's analagous to a monopoly or near-monopoly: the very fact that you are so dominant means rules apply to you that otherwise wouldn't to protect the market--competition itself--from breaking down. Unions are probably the mechanism for keeping the government, as that large dominant employer, honest. The problem is the reverse is also a problem: now the government and the private schools face a monopoly in the form of the teacher's union. That monopoly can--and does--extract unreasonable concessions [1]. An important aspect of unions is collective bargaining (pay, conditions, etc). This is a somewhat controversial topic that tends to divide down political lines. Collective bargaining sprang up in the Industrial Revolution and in periods like the Great Depression to protect workers from essentially bidding themselves down. [1]: http://reason.com/archives/2006/10/01/how-to-fire-an-incompetent-tea http://reason.com/archives/2006/10/01/how-to-fire-an-incompe...