I don't quite understand this post. In my experience lab technicians in academia are highly valued (however I mostly have experience with clean room staff), however they are support for the researchers, who drive the research agenda (well actually it's the funding primarily). What exactly do you expect to not be what you call "a second class citizen"?
Academia is a hugely elitist pyramid with well-demarcated layers, and the lab technicians are at the very lowest level of the pecking order, down with the cleaning staff.
They might be "needed", but by and large are they really "well respected" or "valued"? Not really, sad to say.
