As Cornell University students traveled to Collegetown for the start of Fall 2024, many Cornell staff members headed to the picket lines. The UAW Local 2300 strike and Cornell graduate students’ unionization in Fall 2023 are recent instances of union negotiations or unionization in higher education that have captured national attention.

The bus pulls forward, and then the driver hits the brakes. The mass of students lurches forward. One man loses his balance and stumbles toward the driver. A woman repeatedly says “I’m not drunk! I’m just tired,” and then promptly tries to fall asleep standing up...