What is feather bedding in economics?
: the unfair labor practice of causing an employer to pay for services which are not performed (as by requiring more workers than necessary) — see also Labor Management Relations Act. History and Etymology for featherbedding.
Why is featherbedding important?
Featherbedding emerged as a way for unions to keep people employed in the face of technological advancements and development. This practice emerged as a way for unions to retain workers as industries developed and implemented technological advancements to increase productivity.
Why is it called featherbedding?
The term “featherbedding” originally referred to any person who is pampered, coddled, or excessively rewarded. The term originated in the use of feathers to fill mattresses in beds, providing for more comfort.
What is railroad featherbedding?
Unions in the railroad industry have a long history of “featherbedding,” the pejorative term for the practice of creating pointless make-work jobs. Most infamous was the case of the firemen, important workers in the 19th and first half of the 20th century who shoveled coal into the boilers of steam locomotives.
Why is featherbedding illegal?
Section 8(b)(6) of the Act makes it unlawful for a labor organization or its agents “to cause or attempt to cause an employer to pay or deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or other thing of value, in the nature of an exaction, for services which are not performed or not to be performed.”
What is the concept of featherbedding Why would an employer engage in this behavior?
Featherbedding refers to an unfair labor practice that occurs when a union requires an employer to pay for services they did not perform. Examples include hiring more workers than are needed or assigning unnecessary work. RETURN TO THE HR GLOSSARY. Featherbedding.
What made featherbedding illegal?
“Featherbedding” (Section 8(b)(6)) As its wording makes clear, Section 8(b)(6) outlaws causing or attempting to cause an employer to pay for services “not performed or not to be performed.” It does not outlaw securing payment for make-work – i.e., for services that are unneeded or unwanted, but performed.
What is a hot cargo clause?
“Hot Cargo” agreements (Section 8(e)) With certain exceptions, it is unlawful for a union to enter into an agreement, express or implied, with an employer whereby the employer agrees to cease or refrain from handling, using, selling, transporting, or otherwise dealing in the products of another employer.
What is Yellow Dog condition?
September 16, 2017 by: Content Team. A yellow dog contract is a type of agreement wherein an employee agrees not to become a member of a labor union in exchange for employment with the company that drafted the agreement. Yellow dog contracts are, for the most part, illegal.
What is boulwarism negotiation?
Boulwarism is the tactic of making a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer in a negotiation, with no further concessions or discussion. It was named after General Electric’s former vice president Lemuel Boulware, who promoted the strategy.
Are Starbucks employees unionized?
Starbucks workers first voted to unionize with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1001 in March 1985. The unit included about 120 people. Their contract, secured in 1986, brought health care coverage, paid vacation, and sick leave to Starbucks part-time workers in Seattle and its suburbs.
Is salting illegal?
According to the Labor Board and the United States Supreme Court, it is illegal (an unfair labor practice) for you to refuse to hire or to terminate a “salt” simply because he or she works for the union.
What is meant by jurisdictional strike?
In United States labor law, a jurisdictional strike is a concerted refusal to work undertaken by a union to assert its members’ right to particular job assignments and to protest the assignment of disputed work to members of another union or to unorganized workers.
What is boulwarism example?
One example of Boulwarism is a car dealership advertising “Bottom Line Pricing” on its cars, and enforcing that policy. In contrast to its use in collective bargaining, Boulwarism is a lawful negotiation tactic between private parties.
What is featherbedding in economics?
Others see certain kinds of featherbedding as a corrective for market failures. For example, the delivery of social services is often not quantifiable except in the extreme. When the market is unable to quantify a good or service, the market will fail to accurately price it.
Why is it called a feathered mattress?
The term originated in the use of feathers to fill mattresses in beds, providing for more comfort. The modern use of the term in the labor relations setting began in the United States railroad industry, which used feathered mattresses in sleeping cars.
Is featherbedding the most economically optimal position?
Labor economists often argue that featherbedding can be construed as the most economically optimal position from both an employer’s and employee’s perspective, since it can be seen as distributing the costs of technological change. Featherbedding only emerges under certain circumstances.
What is featherbedding and how can you avoid it?
What Is Featherbedding? Featherbedding is a very old term that applies to labor union work practices that unfairly burden an employer to alter a work force to meet union policies, which results in loss of profits.
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