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| Lloyd |
The freeze comes a month after Gannett disclosed huge pay raises for top executives, including CEO Craig Dubow, whose 2010 pay doubled to $9.4 million. What's more, the paper's austerity step comes even as Montgomery's economy hums with the success of Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia, which have factories in the area, according to The New York Times.
"Hyundai is running its Montgomery plant, which employs 2,650, around the clock on weekdays and occasional Saturdays to keep up with demand," the NYT reported in February. "Last summer, it moved production of its Santa Fe sport utility vehicle 95 miles northeast to the Kia plant to free capacity in Montgomery. Kia recently hired 600 additional workers to operate a second shift for the Santa Fe and plans a third, with 1,000 more jobs."
Earlier: Advertiser unveils new design in print.
Heard about a wage freeze at your site? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Okay I am good with sticking it to the man. But, what does Dubow have to do with Mongomery pay? I know there is a correlation in that both are paid, but if it's a non-performing site does that mean if they don't get raises nobody does? At my site in Broadcast we've had raises. Others I know have gotten this year in USCP. So, why the bruhaha here?
ReplyDeleteWage freeze again in Cherry Hill ~ they seem to be every other year.
ReplyDeleteWage freezes here in the midwest too. Haven't had a raise in about 3 years.
ReplyDeleteBetter than firing people. sadly.
ReplyDeleteBecause, 2:28, corporate is crying poverty when they have proven that they have plenty of money. They're not sharing it with the people who make the operations happen, namely, the workers.
ReplyDeleteIf the company was truly in trouble, there wouldn't be any money to pay Dubow, Gracia, etc. But there is.
If Dubow collected only half his pay ($4.7 million) and divided the rest among the 32,000 workers, that would be about $146 per person. $146 that a lot of them could use.
Heck, if Dubow only collected $1 million instead of $9.4 million, it would be $262 per worker.
But noooo. Dubow has to buy another yacht. And we wonder why this country is so messed up right now.
"Okay I am good with sticking it to the man. But, what does Dubow have to do with Mongomery pay? I know there is a correlation in that both are paid, but if it's a non-performing site does that mean if they don't get raises nobody does? At my site in Broadcast we've had raises. Others I know have gotten this year in USCP. So, why the bruhaha here?"
ReplyDeleteThe correlation is that while they are demanding sacrifice and austerity every where else in the company they and not asking it of themselves. Good leaders lead by example.
I agree that great leaders lead by example. I think ours probably would do that if they could. They are simply powerless before the iron-willed board of directors.
ReplyDelete"No, no, no," our top executives certainly must be saying each year. "Don't double our pay and send us more bonus money! Please, don't do this. Send it to our employees, who have cut back and done without and worked harder and harder with less and less. Please, don't do this. We don't need it. Spread it through the company. Strengthen this, bolster that, encourage them."
They try, I'm sure. They think of us, they care. They always notice our sacrifice and great commitment during these difficult times. It makes your lip quiver reading their memos, doesn't it?
But the mean old board of directors says, "Shut up. Sign here. Take this wheelbarrow full of cash. Tell those newspapers to find somewhere else to save. We're corporate. This is what we do."
They're powerless, our top managers, I tell you. If it was up to them, they'd do all of this differently -- none of these pay freezes, furloughs, layoffs, slashed benefits, ridiculously low mileage reimbursements.
They're forced to take all this money. It's all in writing, so it must be so. Such a mean, mean board.
This company drips with sleaze.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone hang around any longer than necessary?
Get the hell out now.
Frank Lorenzo destroyed Eastern Airlines.
ReplyDelete"Chainsaw Al" Dunlap destroyed Sunbeam.
Craig Dubow...(to be continued)...
Wage freeze in Jackson, Miss.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk of wage freezes ... what's new? Has anyone, other than executives, had a a raise in the last five or six years?
ReplyDeleteThis is the statement that should be paid attention to: "Wanda told managers to relay the news only directly and in person; no emails. She didn't want that information in 'print.'"
ReplyDeleteThat's why we aren't hearing about layoffs. Fear of the blog.
We had a pay freeze that went into effect in April of 2009, and they announced it was ending effective April 2010, so we went back to getting "raises" for appraisals done after April 1 of last year.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't heard anything about the freezes being back on, but it would make sense given the timing - we've had a full year of people getting raises after a full year of a freeze.
I got a 2.75 percent raise last year, which in my case worked out to 32 cents an hour. Yippee. No word here (Lansing) of re-freezing.
ReplyDeleteMy newspaper imposed a wage cut of 5% this year. Your wage freeze doesn't sound too bad now right. Basically all these expense savings funded the executive MBO bonuses at corporate and at the group level and at the site level such as publishers, executive editors, production directors, finance directors and circulation directors. Basically anyone on corporate monthly payroll. All I have to say is these individuals are stealing from all of the other workers in this company.
ReplyDeleteWell, what the heck?
ReplyDeleteDubow, Martore, Dickey, Hunke and all the useless rest have to get their raises and bonuses from somwhere.
Where else if not from the peons desperately clinging to their rapidly disappearing jobs?