Disney bloated CEO pay while the unions denied living wages or ask for concession

[2Design]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/01/walt-disney-co-ceo-bob-iger-collects-35-bump-in-compensation.html

[upi402]

1. No crumbs to be dusted off the banquet table....

"Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger commanded a 35% jump in salary and bonuses in 2010, rewarding what the board of directors' compensation committee called his "exceptional performance" in the face of a slow-recovering U.S. economy.

Iger's salary and bonus reached nearly $16.3 million, up from $12 million a year earlier. His total compensation, including equity awards, reached $28 million, according to the company's proxy filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission."


Still hoping the IS a hell!

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[dmallind]

3. I understand the importance of contrast, but like all CEO/worker comps

The devil is in the detailed math, and the numbers quickly become irrelevant beyond image.

The article mentions two people - a CEO and an EVP getting total pay and bonuses of 28 and 4.1M. Now a lot of both are stock options, which cost the company far less than the stated number and are not like checks, but let's forget that and pretend every penny is cash.

There are 16 people on the mgmt team at Mayer's approximate level. Not all are EVPs but let's assume all make 4.1M too. That makes all of them plus the CEO get a total of 28+(16*4.1) or 93.6M

Now I have no idea what people think the executive mgmt team of a massive multi-billion dollar company should make, but let's again err on the side of the extreme and say we can get rid of all of them. Forget what that would do to stock price, ability to get credit, investors, etc. All of the buggers funtoosh, and every penny spread equally among all employees.

All 144,000 of them.

They'd get $650 a year each. How would the reaction be to a pay raise that size? Would it be seen as a huge victory for the union or crumbs?

And I know damn well everybody is going to get all pissy pretending I said CEOs etc should get paid that much so let's make it clear: I do not. I would be more than ecstatic to see executive pay pegged to lowest FT worker pay, maybe at the 43:1 ratio I recall as being the average in Japan.

But that doesn't stop math being true, and despite several unrealistic assumptions (stock options cost redeemed value like a paycheck, all executives make EVP money, the company could completely eliminate them all without suffering), the sheer number differences mean even truly obscene executive pay in huge companies equates to pissant raises if spread equally. No doubt it's easy to say even this amount would be better than paying CEOs millions, but then we would have to confront the unrealistic assumptions above, and that $650 would drop liker a rock even if the exchange were possible and attempted.

EDIT- very slight math/memory error - actual/current number a few dollars LESS than initially posted

[TBF]

6. Maybe we should just get rid of the capitalism rather than trying

to justify the inequities? Just a thought.

[Orlandodem]

4. How can we foment a working-class/middle-class revolution as big as what's going on

in the Middle East? I'm not advocating violence but if we could get the 40%-50% who don't vote to vote their economic interests there would never be a Republican elected again!

[Occulus]

5. Strike. Nationally.

Another way would be to stop paying on all debts but housing. If that happened nationally, the entire industry would fall in upon itself.

I would love to see that happen.

[Orlandodem]

7. So let's do it. Why are we waiting. I'm ready and I think the country is.

[Omaha Steve]

8. Disney has always been hard on grunt employees

K&R!