Labor Update: AFL-CIO 2010 Executive Pay Watch

by Tracy Kurowski - Blog for Iowa

Last Tuesday, the AFL-CIO launched its 2010 Executive Pay Watch, an on-line catalogue of CEO pay for the previous year. The purpose of the annual report is to focus attention on outrageous CEO pay and the growing wage gap between working families and corporate executives.

This year's PayWatch differs from previous years in that it profiles the paychecks of the CEOs of the six big banks (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup) which were bailed out by the taxpayers, but who are now lobbying our legislators to prevent meaningful financial reform.

These six banks alone paid out nearly $145 billion in total 2009 compensation packages. Since the collapse of the economy in 2008, financial reform has yet to pass Congress. It seems after executive compensation, the next big expenditure of the big banks has been to spend $50 million on lobbying against meaningful legislation.

The CEO’s of America’s biggest banks earned:

Bank of America Corp., Thomas Montag,
2009 Total Compensation: $29,930,431 .00

JPMorgan Chase & Co., James Dimon,
2009 Total Compensation: $9,274,494.00

Citigroup Inc., John Havens,
2009 Total Compensation: $11,276,454.00

Morgan Stanley, Walid Chammah,
2009 Total Compensation: $10,021,969.00

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Lloyd Blankfein,
2009 Total Compensation: $9,862,657.00

Wells Fargo, John Stumpf,
2009 Total Compensation: $21,340,547.00

Other parts of the website profile what the average worker earned in a company compared to its CEO. Here are some of the ratios for large companies with plants in Iowa:

ALCOAPresident and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld: $11,897,153 in total compensation.
By comparison, the average worker made $32,048 in 2009. Klaus Kleinfeld made 371 times the average worker's pay.

DEERE & CO (DE)In 2009, Samuel R. Allen received. $5,610,143 in total compensation.
By comparison, the average worker made $32,048 in 2009. Samuel R. Allen made 175 times the average worker's pay.

ROCKWELL COLLINS INC (COL)In 2009, Clayton M. Jones received. $7,381,808 in total compensation. By comparison, the average worker made $32,048 in 2009. Clayton M. Jones made 230 times the average worker's pay.

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC (PFG)In 2008, Larry D. Zimpleman received. $4,163,906 in total compensation. By comparison, the average worker made $32,048 in 2009. Larry D. Zimpleman made 129 times the average worker's pay.

The AFL-CIO plans to march on Wall Street April 29th to protest such enormous salaries while millions of Americans remain out of work, and to highlight the need for both financial reform and a jobs bill. One element of financial reform could be to implement a financial transactions bill and increase taxes on private-equity and hedge funds.

Click here to learn more about this march

Tracy Kurowski has been active in the labor movement for ten years, first as a member of AFSCME 3506, when she taught adult education classes at the City Colleges of Chicago. She moved to the Quad Cities in 2007 where she worked as political coordinator with the Quad City Federation of Labor, and as a caseworker for Congressman Bruce Braley from 2007 - 2009.

Tracy Kurowski writes a labor update every Monday on Blog for Iowa Main Page