| NEW YORK, July 2, 2012--In another instance of 1% hauteur, Con ED CEO Kevin Burke locked out 8000 members of Local 1-2, Utility Workers Union of America when contract negotiations broke down over pensions and advance notice for strikes last Saturday--during a heat wave and shortly before a national holiday. Five thousand supervisors were brought in to replace the locked-out workers, already resulting in one injury during a Bensonhurst substation fire. Con Ed operates as a virtual monopoly with state-regulated earnings. While Con Ed claims its executive pay is in line with that of other utilities, CEO Kevin Burke received total compensation of $10.96 million in 2011, nearly three times the median utility industry CEO compensation of $3.91 million. Burke's 2012 Forbes ranking for CEO pay is above those of Bank of America, Caterpillar, General Electric, General Mills, Intel and UPS. Burke is paid $4800 an hour. Nevertheless, he has asked shareholders to approve another pay raise at the same time that he seeks to cut benefits for union workers. Source: www.ConEdRipOff.com. Contract negotiations are due to resume on Thursday July 5. Filmed by Liza Béar, Squaring Off. | Views: 7 0 ratings |