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I’m more or less disposable

Hey buddy. If they're hiring, you're not disposable. Managers come in a variety of flavors. Sometimes you get Peppermint Stupid. But also know your labor is worth more than their salary and without you their bills don't get paid.

There's power in a union. But even on your own, you can exert a surprising amount of leverage by finding your niche, establishing your criticality, and then setting boundaries on when you're going to work. When other workers see you getting "special treatment", and when you encourage them to stick up for themselves in turn, you can change the culture of an office through collective stubbornness. Or, at the very least, you can get an obnoxious assistant/middle manager shit-canned for failing to meet their own numbers.

But yeah, professionalization adds a lot more (corporately perceived) value to your resume. Once the business has handcuffed itself to college degrees and years experience, the employees discover a lot more freedom.