Does the union actually do much for them? I know in a lot of blue collar work unions are actually serious, and can do strikes and stop a business in it's tracks if the workers feel they are being mistreated. Why does that not happen with doctors? I've not heard about it happening, anyway.
You're thinking of self-regulating professional body rather than a trade union. Unions fight for pay and working conditions against employers, professional bodies represent the considered opinion of the profession and self-regulate their members, like doctors and barristers.
In the US, while the AMA is technically a trade group and lobbying organization, it's goals/methods are similar to those of a union. It's often referred to as the Doctor's Union.
There are most definitely physician unions, especially in government-operated clinics which are often union shops. I was involuntarily in SEIU for a number of years as a result, though I thought striking was unethical for a doctor myself. See also UAPD and NAVAPD.
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