The labor union practice in a hampered market economy of forcing employers (1) to employ more persons than necessary for the efficient performance of a task, or (2) to pay persons for work they have not performed
Labour union practices that require the employer to pay for the performance of unnecessary work or to employ workers who are not needed. Featherbedding provisions in labour contracts may result from the continuation of work rules that were once efficient but that have become obsolete. A union may insist on the continuation of such work rules to protect the job security of its members. See also collective bargaining