Unions are most valuable for laborers and society when labor is fungible.  Assembly line work, for example, really really ought to be unionized for the benefits of the worker, society, and probably the employer comes out a bit ahead too (expectations are set, wage negotiation is simplified).<p>Academic research is very not fungible.  If you think there&#x27;s a 10x programmer, there&#x27;s a 50x scientist, a handful more at 10x, and the median (yes,median) &quot;nominal&quot; scientist is probably -2x.<p>A unionized system will protect the -2x and the 50xs, being treated equally to these idiots, will drop out.<p>I&#x27;m all for free association, if scientists want to unionize, that&#x27;s up to them, but the broader social consequences will not be pretty.