This study examines how teachers' unions differently affect teacher attrition by gender, relying on nationally representative, district–teacher matched data from the United States. To identify union effects, the article employs a multilevel linear model and exploits natural experiments. Results find that teachers' unions reduce teacher attrition and that the union effects greatly differ by teacher gender and teaching subject. The study also finds that the changes in legal institutions restricting the collective bargaining of teachers significantly raise teacher attrition, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Teachers' unions help districts deal with teacher shortage problems by reducing attrition of their teachers.

• Union effects are greater for men STEM teachers than for non-STEM men teachers; the pattern is the opposite for women teachers.

• Because teaching is dominated by women, districts with higher union membership may imply more room for women's voices.

• Legal changes that undermine teachers' unions are likely to result in deteriorating employment conditions and, ultimately, poor educational outcomes.

这项研究依赖于来自美国的具有全国代表性的地区-教师匹配数据，研究了教师工会如何对不同性别的教师流失产生不同影响。为了识别联合效应，本文采用了多级线性模型并利用了自然实验。结果发现，教师工会减少了教师流失，工会的影响因教师性别和教学科目而异。该研究还发现，限制教师集体谈判的法律制度的变化显着增加了教师的流失，尤其是在科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 学科。

强调

• 教师工会通过减少教师流失来帮助学区解决教师短缺问题。

• 男性 STEM 教师的工会效应比非 STEM 男性教师更大；女教师的情况则相反。

• 由于教学以女性为主，工会会员人数较多的地区可能意味着女性发言权的空间更大。

• 破坏教师工会的法律变化可能会导致就业条件恶化，并最终导致教育成果不佳。