The recent unionization of postdoctoral scholars at the University of California (UC) has attracted much attention due to the following reasons: a) the UC comprises the largest pool of postdoctoral scholars in the US; b) postdoctoral community at the UC has become the third and the largest union of postdoctoral scholars in the world; c) postdoctoral scholars are an unusually socially, culturally and nationally diverse category, with around 70 % being foreign citizens. Since there is a prospect that postdoctoral scholars at other universities may follow the same path and choose to unionize, learning from this particular case of unionization will be of crucial interest for many other postdoctoral scholars associations (PSAs). One of the consequences of unionization has been depriving the UC PSAs of their keenness to address issues that pertain to the basic qualities of postdoctoral appointments, including the conditions of employment. The causes of this apparent paradox are examined and solutions on how to restore the political relevancy of the PSAs in the context of unionization are offered. The main conclusion is that the PSAs should act so as to increase the communication between the union and the University. Such a channeling role of the PSAs may erase many obstacles that seem to be blocking the road for their development. The PSAs may thus become rejuvenated and regain the role of powerful political platforms for addressing postdoctoral concerns from neutral and independent perspectives.