@newfweiler said:
I've seen similar things where a manager wants to promote a particular worker to a certain position, but union rules require that the job be posted and that all qualified candidates be considered.
That's when you see things in the listing like "The successful candidate will have a high school diploma from an accredited school in Michigan and will have three years, two months and five days experience with a Farnsworth 410-X modulating press (not the 410-X2)."
Then in the rare event that someone else matches the needlessly strict requirements, it's not too hard to make them not want the job or nit pick something about them.