As stock sank, Fatcat SBC boss paid himself $19.5 million

[UpInArms]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/35691.html

excerpt:

Although the debt-financed takeover is predicated on deep job cuts, union boss Morton Barh urged his 700,000 telecommunications workers to endorse the deal, rather than Vodafone's rival bid, because it would "enhance long-term value for shareholders".

Since Wall Street traditionally cheers job cuts because they increase "long-term value for shareholders", you can only wonder about Bahr's thought processes here. If Vodafone had bought AT&T Wireless, employment prospects would have been unaffected. But Cingular's bid removes one competitor from the market entirely. Even more bafflingly, AT&T Wireless isn't unionized. Who is Bahr working for, exactly?

But Bahr's members will be even more dismayed to learn that as jobs disappear, the management are more than capable of looking after themselves.

<snip>

The San Francisco Chronicle's David Lazarus reports that the power behind the merger - SBC boss Ed Whitacre - helped himself to an astonishing $19.5 million in salary and bonuses last year, not counting stock options.

...more...

[cosmicdot]

1. Ed Whitacre - Texan, what a good ol'boy

needs to be brought down to Earth

Whitacre serves on the boards of Anheuser-Busch Cos., Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Emerson Electric Co., and The May Department Stores Co. He is the national president of the Boy Scouts of America and is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Regents of Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He also is on the board of the Institute for International Economics, and is a member of The Business Council. In 1998, Whitacre was named one of the Top 25 Executives of the Year by Business Week.
http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/news/speaker_series/Whitacre_bba_11_03.asp


The Long Arm of Ed Whitacre


SBC's acquisitions have extended the company's influence throughout the country and overseas. Still, critical strategic challenges remain.

PACIFIC TELESIS
SBC became the first Bell company to gobble up another when it acquired Pacific Telesis in April, 1997, for $16.7 billion.

AMERITECH
The $62 billion deal with Ameritech would transform SBC into a telecom titan, with $46 billion in sales and one-third of the nation's phone lines.

SBC
Since Whitacre took over the smallest Baby Bell in 1990, he has built it into the second largest--and most profitable.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TELECOM
The acquisition of Connecticut-based SNET was SBC's first foray into the Northeast--and a shot across the bow of rival Bell Atlantic.

http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_15/b3624003.htm

[Gman]

2. The author here obviously is unaware that CWA has a neutrality agreement

with SBC regarding Cingular. SBC (at least in SBC territories) agrees not to interfere in any way in any organizing efforts at Cingular. Furthermore, all CWA needs is a majority of the employees to sign a card asking for a certification election. Once the majority is reached, Cingular automatically recognizes CWA for that unit without having to hold an election. I don't know for a fact that the same agreement exists in the Bell South area, but I really don't know why it wouldn't be.

It didn't start out that easy even after the first neutrality agreement at the old SW Bell Mobile Systems, the precursur to Cingular. Local managers often did interfere in organizing drives by threatening job losses, etc., the usual. But later another agreement was signed and lower management was told to butt out. This was all around the time (if memory serves me correctly) before and during debate on the 1996 Telecommunications Act which CWA supported and lobbied heavily for.

AT&T on the other hand, has signed neutrality agreements that are not worth the paper their written on. AT&T in the last 10 - 15 years has become vehemently anti-union.

So when Bahr recommended Cingular rather than the non-union Vodaphone buying ATT Wireless he knew SBC would be much more "union friendly" based on past history. Since there is no union at Vodaphone, the choice became pretty easy for Bahr.

[SoCalDem]

3. He who signs the paychecks, is always paid well...and First..n/t

:(