AT&T CEO's 2008 pay package: $15 million

I was a 13 year veteran of AT&T that left in September, 2008. After working for the real AT&T out of Basking Ridge and going to the new AT&T which is really SBC out of Podunk Texas, it was clear to me that it was time to move on. The SBC culture is that they pay the top 20 to 30 people in the company very well. The remaining 300,000+ employees are required to scrap and fight for every nickel. It is unfortunate that a company like SBC could acquire AT&t. Worse yet, keep the name as the most respected telecommunications company out there. For all of you that keep complaining, just leave. They are not holding a gun to your head. They don't even care if you leave. Sooner or later, the horrific quality that the new AT&T is putting out there will catch up with them. The only productive thing they have is wireless, which SBC had nothing to do with it"s success.Eventually, they will take wireless to new lows also.

Retired from Bellsouth. Living on retirement pay and now they want to cut health benefits, While the CEO is Making this kind of money. You'll notice they get stock bonuses like crazy, this way they are major stock holders for a short time and can vote themselves raises. Then they sell the shares and get a big payday.

I for one am so tired of At&t. I compare them to Wal-mart. My spouse is a low level manager who has put in endless hours without any overtime. Nothing. Zilch. Heand most other managers make much less then the techs. They are "negotiating" right now with the union for new contracts. I think the company has no respect for its employees especially on the management end. They are taking advantage of the state of our economy. They are all fully aware that employment options are thin so they are beating down the lower level management. What boundries are there for managers who have no support and really need their own union.

I love the way AT&T keeps comparing us to the car manufacturer that are struggling. The Car manufacturers did not make 12 BILLION DOLLARS last year. I am not sure that they ever made that kind of money. AT&T thinks we are all stupid. We are not stupid and we are a valuable asset. Most of us have stock in the company, the Proxy actually gives us a vote on the CEO. I am obliviously not voting for Stephenson. Not in this life time. Any man that stands up and says "I would bring the outsourced jobs back to the United States if I could find enough competent people here to take the positions" The nerve of that man. I think a company that moves jobs to India should move their business there also. I would love to see Americans take a stand and opt not to do business with any business that has outsourced jobs in other countries. At the rate we are going all of the jobs will be there and none of us will be able to afford to buy the services because we will all be unemployed. Of course that is of no concern to Stephenson which is obivious with the comments he makes.

Right now as we speak our brethren are working without a contract while the Union and company remain in negotiations?! "WE HAVE YOUR BACK!" I have worked in the "Bellsouth" region almost 20 years, and can tell you this company "at&t" is on it's way to MCI status if something isn't done with the leadership! Success in the past was always measured in revenue per subscriber line. Bellsouth always smoked the other Baby Bells year in and year out in this area. With that being said; at&t wanted nothing, and I mean nothing to do with how Bellsouth conducted business. When I learned this I knew we could be in big trouble! Being arrogant doesn't make money, learning from others can & will. I have never in my life been part of such a mess as the at&t merger with the implementation of at&t's business practice! God help us all! I actually had high expectations for this merger...why, I have no idea!! I have seen nothing yet that even resembles an intellegant decision from corporate on how we function day to day. This includes the ridiculous proposals the company has presented while negotaiting the current contract with the SBC region!! All the crying about the economy by at&t, and how pitiful they are for having to pay a living wage and benifits make me want to vomit!!The millions they spend on surveillance of employees alone would pay for any benifits they are trying to steal from the workers! The modest wage increases the union is asking for is nothing compared to the millions they spend sponsoring athletic events! I could go on and on with the wasted money these idiots blow on useless things year after year but I don't have room! The final rant here is: 1.At&t will not be happy until every single worker, managers included, despises this company and hates to even come to work every day! God forbid someone actually enjoy the job they have! 2. They could care less about their customers! They push the outside employees to the point that customer service is dead last, that's right, last! Put that in your pipe and smoke on it for a while because they mean it from the heart! 3. If at&t could fire every single employee they had and still make enough $$ to get the Bid Dogs out the door before the crash they would do it yesterday! I'm around on a day to day basis, and you can feel the hate all around and it's a sad feeling! 4. If you work here stand behind your SBC co-workers if they have to strike to get these greedy guys to come around with a fair settlement! If we don't stick together and stand up to these cowards they will serve themselves a huge raise at our expense next year!Salute!

I worked for BellSouth for 8.5 years before we were bought by SBC. I never thought BellSouth was very cutting edge until SBC took us over. The Flinstones have truly bought the Jetsons. And the technology will continue to take a hit as long as the prevailing attitude is "you can do more with less."
Randall Stephenson seems content to overwork the first and second managers and craft personnel. He doesn't care about the backbone of the company. Only the bottom-line for the stockholders and his ever increasing deep pockets.
It's a shame to watch a once great company get plundered. Executive pay at at&t is out of line. Give the people who make this company work some appreciation!

I agree with a lot that has been posted here. I feel the union members and the 1st/2nd line managers are all getting the hosed. Since Randall took over, the stock went from $43.50 to the $20's. If we are talking shareholder value, he should be the first one walked out the door. With 330k employees, there has to be 50 or more employees motivated, educated and experienced enough to take on the role of CEO. As Americans first, and employees second, we need to take a stand against AT&T. Corporate greed has ruined business in the USA. The elitist at the top rape the company and then leave the "regular joe's"
holding the bag. Does MCI,ENRON,AIG,GM,Chrysler, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac ring a bell to anyone. We are not those companies YET, but it very well could happen with the current management in place.

Just as an FYI, randall's compensation is determined by the board of directors, the same board that he appoints. If that's not a conflict of interest I don't know what is. Look at and vote on the proxy if you are a shareholder.

YO 'March 9, 2009 - 11:46pm'
"The first-line/second-line managers have been getting screwed ten times more in the last 10 to 15 years than the non-management force." EXACTLY the reason the non-management force is represented by a Labor Union! Do you get it now? Wake up, step up and get a clue, no-one does you any favors, you have to take matters into your own civilized hands. Don't blame the non-management force for being organized. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Interesting...(the original) AT&T folks feel like we are not included in (the new) at&t...certain problems merging two companies are bound to arise and expected. But, how does the answer always end up with SBC saying "Who bought who?" or "Remember, we bought you!". How does that attitude resolve anything? It is a slap in the face to employees from (the original) AT&T. Remember, SBC bought AT&T for a reason, a good investment, an excellent reputation, name recognition, knowledgeable workforce, large business customer base, network integrity, etc. Sure would be nice to feel like a part of the overall Company rather than the wicked step-sister. As far as Executive pay, the rewards of the Company should be reaped and shared by all. It takes ALL employees to create and maintain a successful Company. It all boils down to "an honest day's pay for an honest day's work", for ALL levels. We ALL have a stake in this. The current management approach is not good for ANY customer, employee or shareholder and is a result of the Company direction set by the executives. btw, (the original) AT&T executives for the most part are gone (and good riddance). I believe the "good leadership" you refer to is a result of Ed Whitacre retiring...not any influence of (the original) AT&T. SBC was lucky to have Whitacre, seemed like a decent fellow, priorities in order, started out as a craftsperson and worked his way up, valued employees, smart business sense, appreciated the customer base. From my perspective, the change in attitude, driven to the rank and file, happened AFTER Whitacres retirement, not by (the original) AT&T.

If there is a strike it will be nation wide. In an informal poll I took of average people in our community, there wasn't much support for AT&T. Especially after informing them of the proposed 40%, yes 4-0, take-back in compensation. I have a strong belief that if/and when there is a strike the outcry from the public will be in support of the worker, not the company. I think the attitude of "well at least you still have a job" has reached its end. Everyone who I have spoken with not associated with the company has agreed that this would be an undue take-back in compensation.

FYI: I am not an employee of AT&T, rather an informed and concerned memeber of my community; and am outraged at the lack of respect this company has for its employees.How stupid do they think their employees really are that they would sign to such a ludacris contract! ITS RATHER INSULTING...

Bring back Ed. Outsource Randall.

Start throwing them in jail.

Just another example of our elitist corporate culture in our country. Any CEO can be replaced. There are probably at least 10% of the employees in any company that could do the CEO job equally as well as the current CEO. The reason the CEO got where he is today, beside being a top 10% employee, is due to sponsorship---politics and who you know. We need to limit CEO pay to a max of 50 times the average 1st level pay.

Since AT&T was bought by SBC, everything has become "different". In fact, it appears more like AT&T bought SBC than the other way around. All the good leadership at SBC has left, to make room for the cut-throat work environment that AT&T has been standing for. Just to set the record straight: The first-line/second-line managers have been getting screwed ten times more in the last 10 to 15 years than the non-management force.

As for the former BellSouth area, we are ready to support the north & west folks whose contract will expire before ours. This company (AT&T) is currently spending millions of dollars training management & manaagement's families to do our jobs to get ready for your strike. This is training they have claimed they could not afford to provide us in the past... We WILL HOLD THE LINE & WE ARE NOT RELIEVING for these supervisors while they come to take over your jobs. We have advised all personnel who assist in supervisor relief while the managers are gone will be tried as scabbers!

Amen!!!

We are ready for strike!!!!! Im sure all the work is going to be sent to all the bell south employees in the southeast, anyone out there please keep up with the news and support us when we do go on strike and call into our test centers, business office's and complaint about your service's not being restored on time, GOD BLESS the hard working american, amen!

HMMM someone wants to cut our healthcare but he gets healthcare if he's employed or not I wish my job was going around talking and eating breakfast every morning calling that work while the lowly peasant hourly workers get raked over the coals,I'm happy OBAMA is in office for 8years Bush gave his buddies like Randall a 8year holiday trust me as the middle class makes a come back OBAMA will win again milk is $3.74 cents yet you want me to pay for healthcare but I bet if you ask Randall when was the last time he touched a tool or punched a keyboard he couldn't tell you, only what kind of jelly he wants on his biscuit and how he likes his Canadian bacon cooked!

Stephenson is hardly noble by declining his 2008 bonus. One day before he announced he would not be taking a bonus, he was gifted some 300,000 shares of stock. On that same day (01/29/2009) he sold just less than 1/2 of those stocks for $3,245,979. To top it off, the company management team was awarded a bonus (although it was considerably less than previous years) while the workers were denied their annual performance award. HMMMM, the folks that actually do the work, getting stiffed while the executives receive 'corporate gifts', just doesn't figure. We are ready for the fight too!

Trust me. We are READY for a strike. CWA6132 Proud!!!

I am an outside technician for at&t. I tell you that it is very hard to put my trust and faith in a man/company that seems to only lookout for him/itself. The company wants us to go above and beyond the call of duty, but, how can we when we feel as if the company is stabbing us in the back. The stock options that the executives received are so high that they have no need for the salary or bonuses they get. The executives get richer and they cut jobs, raise the cost of health benefits to each employee and expect the lower income employees to take a pay cut. How can this be fair? Mr. Stephenson, I ask you, lead this company by example not by greed! God put us here to help one another, not for our own personal gain.

I went back to the March 08 issue of this publication and read some of the same remarks and discuss in the fact that it was 18million last year. Yet the employees keep giving and giving especially management from director down. I understand all managers from director up did get some sort or Stock option/award this year. The folks really doing the work satisfying the customer on a day to day basis. The managers that are constantly working with the CWA and the companies goals objectives and measurement plans are rewarded with things like NO RAISE THIS YEAR, or your percent at risk for the bonus has been reduced, or as managers you are the best now you can pay more of your insurance. One reward after another one. I assure most folks would gladly give up their bonus for a 22% incentive increase. I guess my big question is just what can anyone do. This has become more about greed instead of working together. How much money can one person spend. I hope he at least puts some back into the economy. Between what I read from last year I do not believe he has to.. After all between his perk's of free finanacial, jet, gym membership, moving allowance's what can he spend his money on. By the way does anyone know if Mr. Stephenson's brother is still a craft member of AT&T. I wonder how that discussion goes at the Sunday dinner table. The have's have more and the have-not's have less

However I am sure Mr. Stephenson will be stimulating the economy. I do believe that as he said before the company did not meet objectives why would he be rewarded with a 15million dollar incentive. What did his employees get? The company did make a profit. What did his 1st, and 2nd level raises this year. Zero I believe. Is that fair. Was the only bonus/raises/incentives for the upper management, CEO etc. I do believe this is a bargaining year with the Union. How do you tell folks you cannot get give them anything and give to yourself? How do you tell your employees you are in the trenches with them. This guy is not living in the world with the normal working folks....

sucks! Sucks because working for this company you have no choice but fill the tense operations of the Question mark. The question mark of when will be the next round of cuts.. no merit increases for the employees and bonuses slashed less than half. There goes working people being able to stimulate the economy with out goverment assistance.

I'm very much against the raise in another form where the company has to cut jobs by the thousands. One must take into account that these job cuts hurts the company more since these workers average yearly earning are no more than $ 36,000.00.But for those who argue that there should be a cap on the salary you must leave that to the shareholders they choose how to compensate the very person who keep their investment afloat although executives have a way to make shareholders buy their ideas generally big companies like that have smart shareholders.Sometimes executives are greedy thinking only of what's for them the culture here these guys are not always loyal to the company that is making them rich. Start investing away from these guys in markets that people don't even talk about and the difference will be obviuous .Suntel S A.

How generous of him to give up his bonus, please. Nobody deserves to make that kind of money, especially when you look at the front line employees and the way they are treated and the pay they receive. The people that have direct contact with the customers are the ones that deserve to be getting raises, instead they get laid-off, and the remaining employees left have to pick up the slack. It's not just Stephenson either, its all the Telecom CEO's.

I personally feel that no one is worth more than $100,000 a year, providing that all commodities were in line. The average person cannot continue to meet rising costs and no salary increase, which means that all areas of the economy must fall in line by declining prices. The information received about AT&T motivates me to eliminate any services I currently get from them.