of economy. While it did contain some rollbacks in some of the higher fringe items bargained by individual unions and while it did contribute to the prevention of whipsawing on the part of unions, the Commission by recommending that its money provisions be specified as standard compensation for all employees engaged in construction effectively required open shop contractors to pay union-bargained fringe benefits. Most observers felt that on balance the latter feature increased rather than reduced costs, but that the additional costs were worthwhile in the interests of increased labor stability. While the site committees played no direct role in the area of uneconomic practices, as discussion forums they probably reduced the number of blatantly uneconomic clauses that otherwise would have been attempted. Where they had developed local pride in their arena of operation, the site committee was a mechanism by which labor leaders themselves could resist pressure from other unions or their own membership to maximize the economic gains from their bargaining power position. Finally, the whole matter of economic practices cannot be divorced from the reduction of work stoppages which reduction, in itself, saved money. Stoppages and schedule slippages were costly and to the extent they were reduced, economy 22 of operations resulted. SUMMARY The late professor Slichter of Harvard once stated, "If make work rules or practices become prevalent, they will substantially hold down the output of industry and the standard of living in the country. 123 When the economy is in a cycle of high production and high demand, featherbedding deprives the labor market of effective manhours. Featherbedding acts as a drain on our manpower reserve even in situations of extraordinary production demand, such as during World War II or the Korean conflict, and during cyclical upturns of production demand. Labor is unwilling to part with practices which create needless jobs even during periods of high employment because they feel they need this artificial employment as a hedge against future years with the probable lower levels of employment. During periods of high employment available manpower operates as a limiting factor on potential total production, and featherbedding practices have the effect of lowering this potential. This artificially created employment inhibits attempts to salvage something from the total economic waste it represents. The artificial employment created by featherbedding practices is "disguised unemployment"" 24 since from an economic point of view, the contributions of those so employed, and of the unemployed, are both zero, but this disguised unemployment actually has a worse effect on economic growth than normal unemployment since it is a rigid and In order to best serve the public interest, we must accelerate the program to eliminate restrictive practices of all types. In order to best serve the public interest, management must lead the way to increasing production and sound economic growth. 6. 7. 8(b)(6) read as follows: It shall be an unfair labor practice 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. American Newspaper Publishers' Ass'n. v. NLRB, 345 U. S. 100 (1953), 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Address by George Romney, Secretary, U. S. Department of Housing and AGC Five Point Legislative Program formulated January 15, 1967, and adopted by Board of Directors March 1967. There is increased movement into the public welfare protection field by certain unions. Certainly not those of the Building Trades. NLRB v. Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union 364 U. S. 573. The vast majority of this proposal has been edited from the note in Drafting Ibid, p. 824. Featherbedding: Law and Arbitration, Edelman and Kovarsky, lu Labor Law 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. National Conference on Construction Problems Task Force Report, July 1969, p. 9. AGC of Massachusetts Newsletter, July 30, 1970, p. 3-4. Construction Labor Relations, Goldenberg & Crispo, p. 55, 1968. The Missile Sites Labor Commission, 1961-67, p. 61 (1968). The American Economy, p. 167, Summer Slichter (1948). "disguised unemployment" is generally used to explain the lack of economic contribution to the country as a whole. The same considerations seem appropriate to explain the contributions of those holding featherbedding positions. Drafting Problems and the Regulations of Featherbedding, Yale Law 1. 2. SELECTED REFERENCES Aaron, Benjamin: Government Restraints on Featherbedding. (In Stanford Backman, Jules: Featherbedding: The Economic of Waste. Address before the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, Chicago, Illinois, Oct. 21, 1960. 3. Bok, Derek C., Dunlop, John T.: Labor and the American Community. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Cassell, Frank H.: Use and Abuse of Power. (In Labor Law Journal, Cassimatis, Peter J: Economics of the Construction Industry. New York, Chamberlain, Neil W.: The Union Challenge to Management Control. Clark, Allan P: Featherbedding and the Taft-Hartley Act: Why the Ineffectiveness of Law Force?. (In University of Florida Law Review, 1966, 19:163. Cost-boosting Union Work Rules: How Many of These Plague Your Jobs? Daykin, Walter L.: "Featherbedding", Labor Law Journal, 1956, 7:699. 9. 10. Drafting Problems and the Regulation of Featherbedding An Imagined 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Edelman, Milton and Kovarsky, Irving; Featherbedding: Law and Arbitration. Featherbedding: Make - Work Imperils Economic Growth. Time, August 3, 1959, p. 70. Gomberg, William: The Work Rules and Work Practices Problem. Labor Haber, William and Levinson, Harold M.: Labor Relations and Productivity in the Building Trades. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1956. Herling, John: Durable Douglas. The Washington Daily News, Dec. 17, 1968. Howard, Wayne E.: The Missile Sites Labor Commission, 1961 through 1967. Lasher, Albert C.: Work Rules: Can Management Regain Its Rights?. Dun's |