What is "featherbedding"

n. (context US English) The employment of more workers than is necessary because of union rules, especially upon the introduction of new technology vb. (present participle of featherbed English)

1. n. a mattress stuffed with feathers [syn: feather bed]

2. v. treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!" [syn: pamper, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge]

3. hire more workers than are necessary

4. [also: featherbedding, featherbedded]

n. the practice (usually by a labor union) of requiring an employer to hire more workers than are required

See featherbed

Featherbedding is the practice of hiring more workers than are needed to perform a given job, or to adopt work procedures which appear pointless, complex and time-consuming merely to employ additional workers. The term " make-work" is sometimes used as a synonym for featherbedding.

The term "featherbedding" is usually used by management to describe behaviors and rules sought by workers. The term may equally apply to mid- and upper-level management, particularly in regard to top-heavy and "bloated" levels of middle- and upper-level management. Featherbedding has also been occasionally used to describe rent-seeking behavior by corporations in response to economic regulation.