In his graduate course, Forest Decline Concepts, Dr. Manion asked us “How much tree mortality is normal in a forest and how can you know when and where that baseline level is exceeded?” I took the question to heart and started as his graduate student to trek through the woods, measure thousands of trees, read papers, and sweat through analyzing data. At forest pathology conferences I took pride in knowing that our lab dealt with big picture questions and the health of the forest, while most presentations I heard were about maladies of individual trees.  Predictably, when I reflect on my past mindset now, I am most struck by my own myopia. I wanted a professorial career based solely on a love of science and was naïve to the workings of the precarious academy that houses science.  It never occurred to me that, as a professor, I’d want to work to support my labour union.