Administration March 4, 2005

Union Targets Directors for Excess Pay Campaign

April 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The AFL-CIO has launched a vote "no" campaign targeting "derelict" directors at 10 companies where chief executives received excessive pay packages.
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The effort is being coordinated through the Executive Paywatch Web site,  www.paywatch.org .

“We are urging shareholders to take a proactive approach in stopping runaway CEO pay dead in its tracks,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka said in a news release. “Irresponsible directors must be removed to rein in excessive CEO pay that ultimately robs working families of their retirement security.”

The AFL-CIO is urging shareholders to withhold support from the following directors for approving excessive executive pay:

  • Michael Miles of American Airlines
  • William Campbell of Apple Computer
  • MyraBiblowit of Cendant
  • Carol Bartz of Cisco Systems
  • Richard Parsons of Citigroup
  • John Williams of Clear Channel Communications
  • Decker Anstrom of Comcast
  • Robert Spilman of Dominion Resources
  • William Tauscher of Safeway
  • Bradley Jacobs of United Rentals.

The Executive Paywatch Web site profiles case studies of each of the targeted directors and the CEO pay decisions they made. For example, at Dominion Resources, CEO Thomas Capps’ total compensation increased 160% in 2003, even though the company’s net income fell by 77%, the news release said. Capps has had an interlocking directorship with compensation committee director Robert Spilman, the former CEO of Bassett Furniture where Capps served on his board in 1997.

Executive Paywatch is also launching an e-campaign to support stock option expensing. “Executives disproportionately benefit from stock options and this cost has been kept off the books. Moreover, not expensing stock options has artificially boosted profit reports, thereby generating further increases in CEO pay,” the announcement said.

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