03-06-2011, 07:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rob Tucker
Is there any mention of executive pay or bonuses for HECO? I've never really heard of corporate executives going on strike for wages or work conditions....
When I worked in a Fortune 20 company, management wages were reduced 10%, and then we were given the opportunity to "earn back" our former salaries as bonuses (which were reduced over time). Pensions were frozen or eliminated. Twenty five percent of all management employees were let go on a single day (albeit, with generous severance package) and three years later the vast majority of these positions had not been reopened, so those left behind had a dramatically increased workload). Management holidays were cut by 10%. Management employees lost their full medical coverage and were required to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to buy their restructured medical coverage. Meanwhile, union members protected by contract maintained most of their existing benefits, including no-cost medical coverage, as well as job security.
Management employees cannot strike because they do not have the same contractual protections as union members. All they can do is put up with it or leave to find other employment.
I'm not suggesting undue sympathy for management - they get paid higher compensation and they have different work-related stresses. But to suggest that corporate cost cutting is being foisted solely on the backs of union members is inaccurate. In my experience (and my knowledge of other companies in my industry) management employees are the first to be hit, and the impacts on individuals were more severe. I know first hand, because two years ago my own job was eliminated...