Originally Posted by
Check Essential
We better realize what we are up against when there's talk about getting back to C2K payrates. Management has no intention of allowing that to happen.
Did anyone else see the UAL/CAL CEO's interview in Fortune last month?
Jeff Smisek:
When we closed the merger, I did 16 CEO exchanges around the system where I met with my co-workers. I'd stand up and answer any question they wanted. They were not used to that at United, I can assure you. They were at Continental.
I'm starting on a round in Europe next week. I'll do Asia, I'll do Latin America, and then I'll start more in the U.S. again, just being visible, answering people's questions, and being honest with them. "When are you going to snap me back to the wages I had in the year 2000?" Answer: never. That was a different time, and you will never be paid like you were in 2000. We're in a different business now. Low-cost carriers used to be a small percentage of the U.S. market. Now they're a giant piece. Business has changed, and people respect you when you're honest.
Leadership: The Jeff Smisek interview with Geoff Colvin - Apr. 21, 2011
And yet I am sure his pay has not been cut in half. I am sure he actually makes a heck of a lot more than whomever was CEO in 2000.