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CEO Benefits Rise Despite PerformanceAAn expanding war on terrorism,a state fiscal crisis, and a soureconomy has not been enough towrest the public’s attention awayfrom the issue of excessive executivecompensation.Newspapers, magazines andperiodicals, including the NewYork Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek, and Canada’s Globe &Mail, have all recently highlightedthis issue. A recentBusinessWeek special reportfocused on the pay trendsamongst America’s corporateleaders and found that while thevery largest pay packages—inthe hundreds of millions—havedeclined, most industries haveexperienced increases in executivecompensation.What makes this pill hard forworking families to swallow, isthe fact that CEO pay has grownat such an astronomical ratedespite the fact that all of NorthAmerica is in a recession, unemploymentis growing, and manycompanies’ performances havedeclined. During these tougheconomic times, it is primarilythe workers who are being askedto sacrifice.The facts speak for themselves.According to the AFL-CIO, executive pay has increasedat a much greater rate than anaverage workers pay. Twentyyears ago CEOs made 42 timeswhat their workers made. In2000, CEOs were making 531times what a worker makes.According to BCTGM InternationalPresident Frank Hurt,the system of compensating executivesis laden with deficienciesand problems. “There is no logicalway to rationalize the increasein CEO pay, relative to that oftheir workers. Especially whenthey are demanding our memberspay more for health care andretirement security,” notes Hurt.CEO compensation in thefood industry has continued torise despite low stock prices andless than stellar fiscal performancesfrom some of the leadingcompanies. Sara Lee Corp. is butone example of this. Accordingto the AFL-CIO’s ExecutivePaywatch website, Sara LeePresident and CEO C. McMillanraked in $17,304,615 in totalcompensation including stockoption grants in 2002. From previousyears’ stock option grants,the Sara Lee executive alsocashed out $3,490,683 in stockoption exercises. McMillanreceived this massive compensationpackage despite the fact thatthe company has not met analysts’expectations, which wereoutlined when the company initiateda restructuring two yearsago. Ironically, Sara Lee is currentlycontemplating anotherrestructuring.According to Hurt, a company’sBoard of Directors musthold CEOs accountable andbring their compensation in linewith reality. “How can directors,who have the final say over aCEO’s pay, legitimize bonusesworth millions of dollars when acompany is struggling or hasfailed to meet expectations?”noted Hurt. “And more importantly,how can a company legitimizeattacking workers’ benefits,while heaping riches on atop handful of executives?”How to Research Your CEO’s PayWant to know how much your CEO made last year? All public companiesmust file certain documents with the Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC), including an Annual Report (10K) and a ProxyStatement (DEF 14). It is the Proxy Statement that lists top executives’compensation, including their pay, bonus, stock options, and retirementbenefits. To examine your CEO’s compensation, please go toeither www.sec.gov to view the actual SEC filings, or check out theAFL-CIO’s Executive Paywatch site, www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/paywatch.4 BCTGM NewsBaseball, Barry Bonds and the BCTGMIIn a recent article in anAmerican Airlines publication,American Way, baseball legendBarry Bonds, who has more than600 career home runs and isnumber four on the all timegreatest baseball players list,shared why San Francisco is oneof his favorite cities in America.BCTGM-made bread andchocolate highlight Bonds’ mostsought-after San Francisco goods.When asked where he liked toshop in San Francisco, Bondsexplained, “San Francisco isknown for having the best sourdoughbread and for itsGhirardelli Chocolate. The bestplace to pick up some of thechocolate is at the original location,Ghirardelli Square, nearFisherman’s Wharf. As far assourdough bread goes, some ofthe best is at Boudin Bakery andCafé.”Boudin’s Bakery is worldfamousfor its Original SanFrancisco Sourdough FrenchBread and bills itself as the old-est business in San Francisco.Workers at Boudin Bakery andCafé are represented by Local 24(San Francisco). The bakery andcafé’ are owned by GESDCapital Partners,which recently repurchasedit. Atthe BCTGM’srecent WesternConference,GESD PartnerLou Giraudo outlinedthe group’splans for Boudin’sfuture. GESD alsorecently boughtSan Diego Baking Company andrecognized the BCTGM.Members of Local 125(Oakland, Calif.) produceGhirardelli Chocolate, America’slongest continuously operatingchocolate manufacturer.Established in 1852, Ghirardelliis one of the few companies inAmerica that controls the entirechocolate manufacturingprocess, from the cocoa bean toNew Officers TrainingPictured here are 16 new local union officers who completedthe International’s New Officers Training course in March at theGeorge Meany Center for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, Md.the finished product.Ghirardelli’s parentcompany is Lindt &Sprungli.Reflecting onBonds’ praise for theunion goods,BCTGMInternational President FrankHurt notes, “Our Union has collectivebargaining agreementswith some of the best and mostwell known companies in theworld. Our members are proud ofthe quality products they producefor the companies undercontract to the BCTGM. OurUnion has always prided itself inbeing a respected and responsibleorganization.”May/June 2003 www.bctgm.org 5