Tell me if I should look for a new job now

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Here's my tale of woe. Help me figure out if I've totally screwed myself, and/or if I should just try to flee now, or what:

I am several months into my latest job, which I took specifically to work with a particular manager that everyone said was great. I had reservations because it's a union environment, and though I understand that some folks love unions, I have had to work under so many for so many years that they finally taught me long ago to loathe and distrust them. In any event, this manager turned out to be even better than her reputation - I would do anything for her, and love it. She's that good.

Well, due partly to the union but mostly to hideous office politics and game playing at the upper levels of the (small) company, this manager I came to work for is getting really burned out, and I would be shocked if she wasn't gone before long.

Meanwhile, the office politics on my own level have me so baffled and frustrated that I am totally brainless at this point, since my learned social skills shut down if things get too complex and I can no longer understand what's happening or how to protect myself (Which is why I'm asking for help here). There are the usual people who are typical union slackers - all mouth, totally undermining our manager every chance they get, playing games to win protection from various sources, and so on. I was stupid enough awhile back to believe that because I could see the truth of what they were doing to this great manager, that telling her would "fix" it - but of course it did not, and probably just added to her stress. And of course now I've alienated these jerkos - and truly, their lack of work ethic and so on so repulses me that I don't care.

I am also at this point protected from them at this point because this good manager appreciates me and my work and this manages to keep them at a distance.

The work itself is very hard, but I could do it if the office politics wasn't burning me and my manager out. She would have administration support, I would have her support, we'd be fine.

As it is, since the good manager is likely to leave soon that will leave me in this horrible staff environment without her protection, and without her control over what otherwise would be an unruly mob of slackers and union idiots. I wouldn't last 10 minutes after she was out the door.

My question is - should I just prepare now, get my resume updated, and start in on craigslist looking for another job? Or is there something else I should do? What are the things I could have done differently to protect myself from getting in such a crappy situation?

Depending what particular union you are in, there's a possibility of being able to get transferred out of that particular environment, of course NT politics are bound to continue in the new outfit, and any job, union or non-union, for that matter. Your grass is greener from my side of the fence; to be employed on the books, for one, and a job where they can't fire you as easily for another. Many of 'us' would give anything for the opportunity to pull our share of the weight

What are the chances you'll ever find something even close to the same thing on a free ad site? Dude, you're ripping up a winning lottery ticket and tossing it in the trash.

Model what you know from your better work environments before the good manager, and when the coworkers want to party with you, remember when you signed on: "We're here to clean up cow patties, not camp out for the Superbowl. Excuse me if I don't feel like going up in the mountains, putting on a loincloth, painting my body red from head to waist, howling and beating a drum around the fire with you guys"

Don't ever assume that just because you're in a union job you can't be fired. In my last two jobs, it was union people who decided who was "good enough" to work there and who wasn't, and which rules were going to be enforced and which were not, and if they decided you should go they would harass you unmercifully (and with lots of political smarts) or just fail to adequately support you if someone else was after you (including management). Unions used to be wonderful things that did great work - these days they're nearly all corrupt, cliquish, race-to-the-bottom organizations that get to suck off the majority's paychecks while actually only delivering the goods to a small minority.

That's my issue - this is a typical union work place where if you do good work you're going to be abused. I'm only currently protected because my good manager protects me. If/when she leaves, I'm screwed (again).