What Teachers' Unions Do for Teachers When Collective Bargaining is Prohibited.

This article investigates the influence of teachers' unions on teacher compensation, employment conditions, and turnover in eight Southern U.S. states that prohibit collective bargaining (CB) for public school teachers. Using meet-and-confer (MC) status and union density as measures of union strength, and employing propensity score matching to address selection bias, the study finds that even without formal CB rights, stronger teachers' unions are associated with higher teacher salaries and benefits, improved working conditions (such as smaller class sizes and greater teacher autonomy), lower attrition rates among qualified teachers, and higher dismissal rates of underperforming nontenured teachers. These findings suggest that teachers' unions can positively impact teachers' work lives and potentially educational outcomes through mechanisms other than formal collective bargaining, including political lobbying and informal negotiation processes. The study highlights the role of unions in states with restrictive legal environments and contributes to understanding union effects beyond the traditional "monopoly effect" framework.