[kaitai]

Unions are not for academic researchers. Unions are for adjuncts teaching composition, or calculus, or chem 101. If you don't think someone who is hired on a Tuesday to teach a semester-long class starting on a Wednesday is an interchangeable commodity... well, suffice it to say that people hired as adjuncts to teach composition/art history/algebra/precalc/calc/mechanics are viewed entirely as commodities in any city large enough to have cheap housing.

Students will definitely come out ahead if their teachers have time and space to 1) read the syllabus before showing up to class, 2) prepare for class, 3) hold office hours, and 4) store graded materials. Things a student can't reliably do if the teacher is a poorly-treated adjunct: a) get a letter of recommendation (no time!), b) dispute a grade the next semester (tests aren't stored on campus!), c) have comfortable office hours (meet in a hallway, sitting on a floor, because there is no office!).

[dnautics]

Sorry the post immediately above mine referenced researchers, and I forgot about op. I think there's a very good case for unionizing non-research adjuncts.