Airline CEO pay becomes lightning rod.(Business)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), June, 2007

Byline: Anna Marie Kukec akukec@@dailyherald.com Pay for performance in the airline industry has become hugely symbolic to rank-and-file workers, experts said. The issue of compensation for top executives has come to the forefront following massive concessions made by workers as airlines struggled through bankruptcy or cut costs to compete.

Government filings show the size of executive compensation packages, which run the gamut from a few hundred thousand dollars to many millions. "It's become a lightning rod issue that affects labor relations in a huge way," said Joe Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. Total compensation packages - including base salary, stock options and other perks...