Northwest CEO's salary drops over 23 percent (AP)
Doug Steenland, the chief executive of Northwest Airlines Corp., has seen his salary drop 23.5 percent since he took the job in October 2004.
Steenland was paid a salary of $571,354 last year, but his annual salary dropped to $516,375 in December when he took his second pay cut. Steenland's total compensation dropped 17.7 percent to $3.73 million.
The airline's filing on executive compensation comes at a sensitive time, as pilots continue voting on a concessionary contract and flight attendants are set to begin voting on their tentative agreement Sunday. ...
"Executive compensation is an obscenity that is thrust upon this entire society," said Mark McClain, chairman of Northwest's pilots union. He called the filing "an unfortunate distraction." Pilots considering pay cuts can change their votes up until Wednesday.
"Our charge to do what's in the best interest of Northwest pilots doesn't change because executives are overcompensated," he said. ...
Dennis Hightower, chairman of Northwest's board compensation committee, said: "It is vital to retain a qualified senior management team capable of navigating Northwest through the extraordinarily difficult industry environment." ...
