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AT&T Freezes Executive Compensation
No raises for managers, CEO gives up 2009 bonus...
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson sent around an e-mail saying that no managers will be seeing raises this year at the company, employees tell Broadband Reports. Stephenson also informed employees that the AT&T board approved his request to give up his own bonus this year, something we've confirmed with AT&T. Earlier this week, the telco also said they'd be delaying the deployment of their U-Verse VDSL service by one year. AT&T isn't alone in cutting back on executive compensation during the recession -- Time Warner Cable recently informed employees they'd be putting a raise freeze in effect for any employees at the VP level or above.
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fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

Thank God I don't work for AT&T

But I suspect my company may be heading down a similar road as we've revised our profit forecast significantly downward.

DoLeMiTe
My Dixie Wrecked
Premium Member
join:2001-01-11
Pitcairn, PA

DoLeMiTe

Premium Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

My company did something similar. Every year in August would would get a "cost of living" raise but we were told about a week ago that we wouldn't be getting one this year. It sucks not getting it, but at least I have a job.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

Record profits at my company this year.

No raise in 2 years. The year before that it was 3%. In fact they complain that wages are too high and continue to make cuts and increase workload. They all the time remind us how lucky we are to work for them.

lkviewguy
join:2004-02-13
Chicago, IL

lkviewguy

Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

The company I worked for was spending cash like a drunken liberal for years, giving me 6% raises per year, paying hourly employees 3 quarters of a millions dollars in overtime for year 97 ( this is a small privately owned hotel/private club in Chicago with 200 employees. They final learned their lesson this year when they fired 70 employees and lost 150 out of 1200 within a 90 day period. Needless to say I am currently unemployed.

Oh yeah the 2008 China order was $789,000.00 just before I left.
lkviewguy

lkviewguy

Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

I meant year 2007 not 97, sorry.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098 to lkviewguy

Member

to lkviewguy
Well fired means someone did something wrong. What about those 150/2000? Laid off? Imagine you were in that subset. Either way, finding a new job isn't easy. As for a company spending money on it's employees, I don't see that as a negative. They paid you guys well. Kept many happy. Guess they could have spread the money out better, to keep you employed though. Either way, if you were smart, you took those EXTRA sums of money and saved them to live off of, in case of emergencies like now.

wakeup
@comcast.net

-1 recommendation

wakeup to lkviewguy

Anon

to lkviewguy
"The company I worked for was spending cash like a drunken liberal for years"

I love the dumb partisan comment.

When are you partisan morons going to wake up, and realize that both major partys are filled with criminal millionaires on the dole, and that neither of them server the American People?
vinnie97
Premium Member
join:2003-12-05
US

vinnie97

Premium Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

Well, honestly, one can't be considered a true conservative if they spend in such a manner.
shashinka9
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA

shashinka9 to wakeup

Member

to wakeup
Just look at what the house did with a majority of them democrats. They passed the most liberal spending policy in many decades. Actually all the republicans and 11 democrats voted against it. Now that they have a majority there is nothing to stop them. A majority of the programs, maybe 80-90%, is worthless junk.

marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO

marigolds

MVM

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

If you define "most liberal" as "most expensive", it is not the most liberal spending policy in decades. It's not even the most expensive spending policy passed this decade.
shashinka9
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA

shashinka9

Member

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

I don't think so. »www.freedomworks.org/inf ··· %20here!

marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO

marigolds

MVM

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

We've had spending bills over $1T a few times this decade.
marigolds

marigolds to DoLeMiTe

MVM

to DoLeMiTe
said by DoLeMiTe:

My company did something similar. Every year in August would would get a "cost of living" raise but we were told about a week ago that we wouldn't be getting one this year. It sucks not getting it, but at least I have a job.
On the bright side, we are currently experiencing deflation, so a cost of living adjustment would technically be a wage cut.

abc976426
@mindspring.com

abc976426 to fifty nine

Anon

to fifty nine
Freeze this year but double bonus next year

Eryk the dead

Anon

Re: Thank God I don't work for AT&T

Yeah, that's never happened. Last time they did this, they made our raised effective for the last 18 months the next time we got one. So basically 3 became 4.5. Ah well 40 hour work week from now on.
Expand your moderator at work

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

BS

I'll believe that, when i dont see a price hike this year.

AT&T and doing the right thing just dont sound right.

Mizzat
Will post for thumbs
Premium Member
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA

Mizzat

Premium Member

Re: BS

said by OSUGoose:

I'll believe that, when i dont see a price hike this year.

AT&T and doing the right thing just dont sound right.
Out of curiosity when is the last time you've seen a price hike other than the just launched Uverse?
SanJoseNerd
Premium Member
join:2002-07-24
San Jose, CA

SanJoseNerd

Premium Member

Re: BS

I got a price hike on all three of my AT&T landlines just last month.

And on my AT&T cellphone a few months ago.

Mizzat
Will post for thumbs
Premium Member
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA

Mizzat

Premium Member

Re: BS

A true price hike or did you change plans/contract expire, etc? I've never seen a price hike on my phone or DSL without a plan change. I change plans too often on my cell to keep track, but my rate never changed once I had a plan established for as long as I can remember.
SanJoseNerd
Premium Member
join:2002-07-24
San Jose, CA

SanJoseNerd

Premium Member

Re: BS

True price hike. I didn't change anything.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: BS

Price hike... or 'fee' hike

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to Mizzat

Premium Member

to Mizzat
I've not had a recent rate hike in my AT&T Wireless plan either. Actually, because of significant cutbacks in features that I decided I did not need, my bill has gone down by quite a bit.

POB
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium Member
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA

POB

Premium Member

BFD

Now instead of 24k gold toilets, the dickheads at the top will have to settle for 14k.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

Re: BFD

Where have you seen a 24K toilet in the US of A outside of Trump's residence?

POB
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium Member
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA

POB

Premium Member

Re: BFD

said by ninjatutle:

Where have you seen a 24K toilet in the US of A outside of Trump's residence?
Actually, the question is where have you seen one? I deal with executive dickheads on a daily basis. It is fairly incomprehensible what their executive suites house. Notwithstanding the above, don't be so literal.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: BFD

with these paychecks... they can afford just about anything.
Look who was running Goldman Sachs in 2005

»abcnews.go.com/Business/ ··· =5876413

CEO Cash Salary Stock, Other Pay Total Pay

2006 Henry Paulson $129,087,000 $34,900,000 $163,987,000

rockhounds_5
Premium Member
join:2004-07-29
Lewisville, TX

rockhounds_5

Premium Member

Re: BFD

I didn't see at&t on the list. What are you talking about?
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

Re: BFD

»people.forbes.com/profil ··· son/8130

Total Compensation $21,981,984.00

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to ninjatutle

Premium Member

to ninjatutle
said by ninjatutle:

Where have you seen a 24K toilet in the US of A outside of Trump's residence?
No kidding. You think these petty little marxists would be overjoyed that these "evil" executives would not be getting any bonuses this year.

Wireless Joe
@sbcglobal.net

Wireless Joe

Anon

Re: BFD

said by pnh102:

said by ninjatutle:

Where have you seen a 24K toilet in the US of A outside of Trump's residence?
No kidding. You think these petty little marxists would be overjoyed that these "evil" executives would not be getting any bonuses this year.
It's not the executives, it's "managers". I'm classified as a "manager", but I work in a cubicle doing business support and this will be the second year in a row I won't be getting a raise. And I use the common john with everyone else on my floor.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD to POB

Premium Member

to POB
24 thousand toilets?!?
whiteyonenh
join:2004-08-09
Keene, NH

whiteyonenh

Member

Re: BFD

said by SLD:

24 thousand toilets?!?
ZOMG! Imagine the cleaning bill!!!
amdmaddness
join:2006-10-16
Greenville, SC

amdmaddness

Member

managers

Its not just managers its any non-union employee. at&t has two groups those who are union (non-managed group) and those who are managed are "managers". I am one of those non union folks not getting a pay raise this year. At least I hopefully get to keep my job. Nice to see our CEO who makes millions a year not take a bonus.. maybe he needs to take a pay cut to help the company?

•••••••••

Bentover
@sbcglobal.net

Bentover

Anon

pi ssed off

Im the lowest level manager at the company. It really hurts us at my level because the truth is we are just grunt workers that do the dirty work to keep the company going (where the rubber meets the road). We get sh it from union workers and management, its the worst management level to have. These upper level managers and up are depending on the low life 1st level managers to keep the company going when the union members go on strike in April. Trust me the sh it we put up with to keep our jobs is unbearable.

••••

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
Premium Member
join:2001-08-29
way way out

P Ness

Premium Member

Wonderful...no raises..for people who make millions..

Yep they sure will be hurting.....poor them

they should all be taking massive pay cuts....and they should support the vast majority of their workforce.

dont they know the less they pay the average worker...the less that worker spends...the less he spends the less the economy that runs on conusmer spending gets....the less ATT gets...

its one vicious circle that these companies dont understand.
GhostDoggy
join:2005-05-11
Duluth, GA

GhostDoggy

Member

Re: Wonderful...no raises..for people who make millions..

Its what they are not saying that is more the point, which is that those in the trenches, both union and managers, are also not getting raises nor bonuses.
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

nasadude

Member

so...

the board has to approve him NOT taking his bonus?!

so I guess if the board considered he was an exceptional CEO, they could have "forced" him to take his bonus anyway?
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: so...

It's just the procedure that has to be followed. Most, if not all, publicly held companies are like that.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

The Government Got What It Wished For

New York State is already whining that the lack of executive bonuses are costing them in state tax revenue.

»www.businessweek.com/ap/ ··· HQ80.htm

rockhounds_5
Premium Member
join:2004-07-29
Lewisville, TX

rockhounds_5

Premium Member

Just one of many sacrifices

In this context, keeping your job is your raise. The bonuses they have to pay out as the year was profitable for wireless and uverse. They've been giving up a lot of wireline subscribers, but have gained huge numbers of new customers in wireless.

This economy of ours is headed for some serious trouble. Some sacrifices will need to be made unfortunately. I've quite a few friends that have been laid off and there is nothing for them. Nothing.

I used to work in the oil business before going to IT, and we had a long stretch of time in the late 80's/early 90's when we got no raise. It sucked. We were told that at least we get to keep our jobs.

••••

fiber_man
Things Happen For A Reason
Premium Member
join:2001-01-27
Port Saint Lucie, FL

1 edit

1 recommendation

fiber_man

Premium Member

Their own fault.

When your top level employees make more than 50-100 times your average worker then guess what you have?

A lot of animosity, low morale, laziness, sloppy work, don't care attitude, etc..

If and when corporate America finally figures it out. It is the first line employees that deal with their customers and make or break that relationship with that company. Those employees should have the resources and support from management to help retain their customers and work of mouth advertising will provide new customers.

Many successful companies know this and follow those guide lines.

The middle class made this country strong and right now they are angry.
kremithefrog6
join:2008-06-27
Albany, GA

kremithefrog6

Member

Re: Their own fault.

said by fiber_man:

When your top level employees make more than 50-100 times your average worker then guess what you have?

A lot of animosity, low morale, laziness, sloppy work, don't care attitude, etc..

If and when corporate America finally figures it out. It is the first line employees that deal with their customers and make or break that relationship with that company. Those employees should have the resources and support from management to help retain their customers and work of mouth advertising will provide new customers.

Many successful companies know this and follow those guide lines.

The middle class made this country strong and right now they are angry.
i was going to post something, but you said it better than i could. You nailed it on the head.
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

The ridiculous thing is...

Out of his $22 million(!!!) yearly compensation, Randall Stephenson's bonus amounts to only $650k. No sweat off his back, and it sounds good to the press. They'd still get our tax dollars though, because they can...
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

boggles the mind

how the ceos of companies that are not only devoid of morality and social justice but earn obscene compensation compared to ordinary line workers and while their industries foam at the mouth with corporate welfare all in the name of saving and or creating jobs. the silly loophole is that these jobs are NOT what you think they are.. they are NOT something to even consider yourself middle class on... these are poor house jobs with no job security, little to no benefits and if your lucky enough to have the job for 2-5 years, your laid off because you earn too much in raises to your salary or consume too much in benefits. companies DO rate your productivity as a worker, versus how much it costs them and then they make the decision to lay you off. this has been going on for generations. the only way the ceo should freeze compensation versus cutting.. is if they laid off not ONE SINGLE WORKER as a result of the downturn in the economy. otherwise it's fair game to cut ceo pay.

at least if many of these businesses go out of business then maybe change will come. let the shakeout begin.
seker2k
join:2002-04-14
Naperville, IL

seker2k

Member

Re: boggles the mind

Soon, most likely this year the US Government will go bankrupt.

We all know all the major banks are bankrupt.

It's time for change.

Not Democrat change or Republican change, cause the congress are just a bunch of millionaire, crooked criminals.

America needs real normal people in office to represent real people.

American's must purge these multinational large corporations, and prosper via small businesses, and a fair playing field.

We are not responsible for the governments and Big Businesses choices that screwed everything up, those that made the choices are responsible, and must be held accountable.

Then we must rebuild America based on the constitution, and small businesses, and sound money.

Kick the criminals, Federal Reserve and all into prison jump suits.

XNemesis
join:2002-11-16
Kitchener, ON

XNemesis

Member

Re: boggles the mind

Soon, most likely this year the US Government will go bankrupt.

We all know all the major banks are bankrupt.

It's time for change.

Not Democrat change or Republican change, cause the congress are just a bunch of millionaire, crooked criminals

The Problem is that corruption doesn't look at just the wealthy and powerful. You put any normal person in a position of power and let time take it's course and you'll end up with that Normal person becoming the corrupt millionaire crooked criminals.

techjoe
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Lombard, IL

techjoe

Premium Member

Bleh

No raises for all salaried and non-contract staff this year, decided after bonus were paid out so I hear, to the exec's and sales. But we hired 3 new execs in the past few months, complete with relocation and McMansions. Makes me sick.

NetAdmin1
CCNA
join:2008-05-22

NetAdmin1

Member

Instead of bonuses

Instead of bonuses, management should be looking at ways to save the bottom line. Compared to the modest merit increases that that most salaried and hourly works get, bonuses aren't a small chunk of change. Unless these execs went on spending binges with their last bonuses, there should be plenty of money left over from last year. And when the economy improves and the cash flow into the company looks good, take the bonus then.

Delayed gratification, it is clearly a forgotten value in America.

Profess0
@comcast.net

1 recommendation

Profess0

Anon

Just a game

The contract expires this year for all craft employees at ATT. This is just a game before bargaining begins to make everyone think that the upper echelon are going to suffer cutbacks. A small cutback compared to what the upper management makes. Therefore during the bargaining process the company can blame the economy and claim they are suffering thru cutbacks therefore all employees should help bare the burdon and settle for nothing in the contract. Even the lowest paid peons.

SrsBsns
join:2001-08-30
Oklahoma City, OK

SrsBsns

Member

Re: Just a game

Exactly what happen with district 6 bargaining. It makes me sick.

Tel
join:2001-10-12
Mauldin, SC

Tel to Profess0

Member

to Profess0
said by Profess0 :

The contract expires this year for all craft employees at ATT. This is just a game before bargaining begins to make everyone think that the upper echelon are going to suffer cutbacks. A small cutback compared to what the upper management makes. Therefore during the bargaining process the company can blame the economy and claim they are suffering thru cutbacks therefore all employees should help bare the burdon and settle for nothing in the contract. Even the lowest paid peons.
You hit it on the head and anyone with half a brain should be able to see the handwriting on the wall. The poor mouthing seems to start before every contract.

iHaveajob
@speakeasy.net

iHaveajob

Anon

Thankful

McCaw/AT&T/AT&T Wireless/Cingular/AT&T Mobility has paid my bonus at 100%-150% for the last 14 years and I've received a pay raise around 3% (+/- .5%) every year. Not to mention several spot bonuses back in the day. The company pays well and compensates their managers fairly. For those who think there are 14k gold toilets lying around the office - the better question is when will we get our filtered water and plastic utensils back?

alchav
join:2002-05-17
Saint George, UT

alchav

Member

AT&T is doing the right thing, but............

Delaying U-Verse for a year is a mistake. Their VDSL is almost obsolete, and the longer they wait the deeper in the hole they go. This is the only money maker they have right now, so this does not make any sense to me.

As for Freezing Executive Compensation and cutting back on Employees, and no raises, that is inevitable in this Economy. I'm retired from PacBell and was on both sides as an Employee and Manager. I know a Company is made up from the people that work there, but the Attitude and Work Ethic comes from Upper Management. I came to Love and have Enviable Pride working at Pacific Bell. So the best advise I can give anyone is to find work you love to do and this will make you excel and do the best job you can. A good Company will reward you for this and you can advance to the position and compensation you want. If you are not getting this then leave that Company and look for one that does, Life is too short to be miserable.

spg6
Grrrr
join:2001-10-31
NOT Texas!

spg6

Member

Re: AT&T is doing the right thing, but............

I too hired on with Pacific Telephone and all I can tell you is that I only wish it was still Pacific Bell. When SBC bought us (it was no merger) things went downhill fast. Thank you Phil Quigley.

I'm in too deep, have to tough it out to retirement. Thankfully it's this year.

You and I started when above all else, customer service mattered. I can't blame it all on company culture as I'm sure deregulation played a major part, but customer service is definitely not our first objective. Now we make value judgements.

Randall_Lies
@sbcglobal.net

Randall_Lies

Anon

Randy, what a charade

According with Forbes, Randall's bonus is about 2% of his total compensation, while restricted stock awards are upwards of 8 Million. Not to mention his "other" compensation from serving on the boards of (his friends) other companies..... Guy is full of tricks, no doubt. Screw the worker bees, he is just fine.
Check it out, google Randall Stephenson compensation.
BTW, wonder why he is allowed to serve on other boards and T's employees can't even dream about moonlighting on the same field they work in.

jpnv
@sbcglobal.net

jpnv

Anon

What a morale booster...

Here's another thought. Randall and the board decided that officers and managers would not get a raise this year. There was no mention in the email from Randy that the board members were going to not accept their retainers. That's $60,000 paid to each member to "sit" on the board. Now craft isn't getting a bonus this year nor a pay raise. I'm waiting for the email so I can break it to my crew. And as far as a strike goes, I highly doubt CWA will do it in this climate.

ATT Ann
@sbcglobal.net

ATT Ann

Anon

AT&T Manangement Freeze

I work for AT&T and am one of the managers who will not be getting a raise this year. It all sounds very commendable that Randall Stephenson is not going to take a bonus this year (last year his bonus was $4.5 Million) until you learn that the day before this announcement was made he was given 320,900 shares of stock as a stock bonus. Which at $25.15 per share comes to a value of $8,070,635. Somehow his gesture loses it's effectiveness
This is a slap in the face for lower level managers who have had benefits reduced or taken away every year.
Yes times are tough.......at least for some of us.
Go to "cnn.com" , then under the "markets section" type 'T' for AT&T. Then click "INSIDER ACTIONS" in the left column. Now pick a name any name, and enjoy the facts... This is a good way to check other corporations also.

Bentover
@sbc.com

Bentover

Anon

Re: AT&T Manangement Freeze

Ann, I am a lowly first line too, I would never took a 'promotion' if I knew the highest paid tech makes more than me and has better benefits. I have to say when it was just SWBT it was better now I hate ATT and stay only for the check. Yes Randal and the officers got thousnads of shares on 1/29 and made millions onlt to send out the letter on 1/30 to the rest of the management that we get nothing. I never thought I could hate this company but since Randal has been in charge I despise this place. Once I can leave Im going too, there is no benefit of being a 1st level manager anymore.
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