MONY Executive Bonus Programs Attacked

May 3, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The latest controversy over the level of executive bonuses got ratcheted up a notch as a union group unveiled a Web site as part of its opposition to MONY Group Inc.'s proposed executive compensation programs.

The move by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) comes 12 days before MONY shareholders are scheduled to vote on the compensation plans at the company’s May 15 annual meeting.

Union and other shareholder groups have been extremely active in recent months in fighting executive bonus plans, which they consider excessive – particularly coming at a time when many firms are cutting back retiree benefits.

On the site , PACE urges defeat of an annual incentive plan, a long-term performance program, and a stock option plan. The initiatives require shareholder approval even though the MONY Board already adopted them, pending the May 15 vote.

Under the plans, fourteen MONY Group executives could be awarded as much as $12 million each per year, not counting potential stock option awards, according to the union. PACE criticized the additional payments because of what it said was:

  • inadequate disclosure, and
  • broad discretion for directors to grant bonuses without regard to the executive’s performance

PACE also charged that MONY’s plan to allocate an additional five million shares for stock options would “significantly dilute” the value of the company’s existing stock.

The union represents over 320,000 workers in the pulp and paper, oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, atomic, kaolin, and auto parts industries.


 

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