When a new faculty union at Michigan State University (MSU) finally won recognition, in 2025, it was like seeing a plant emerge from the soil—50 years after the seed was sowed. After failed unionization efforts in the 1970s and 1990s, and years of organizing and hard-fought legal battles since 2020, MSU faculty have established the Union of Tenure System Faculty (UTSF). “This is a historic victory for tenure-system faculty at MSU,” the UTSF Organizing Committee said in a joint statement.