Hightower Lowdown

It's good to know that some corporate chieftains feel the pain of their underlings, who keep being forced to do more for less reward. Take the example of Gannett, the media giant that owns 23 television stations and 82 newspapers, including USA Today.

Early this year, Gannett employees were notified that, for the third year in a row, they would get no raises and would have to take a week off without pay. The note was written with a gentle hand, acknowledging the hardship that such sacrifices cause for workers and thanking them for their "great work." To soothe the pain a bit, the note added that Gannett's two top executives would take a commensurate cut in their salaries.

Okay, team spirit! But, only two months later, bonuses totaling $3 million were quietly bestowed on CEO Craig Dubow and COO Gracia Martore. The two also were awarded stock options and deferred pay totaling as much as $17 million.

So, some 32,000 workers were forced into furloughs to save about $17 million for Gannett, but the corporation's number one and number two were then allowed to slurp up all of that savings and then some. Who says there's no 'I' in team?

It's not like the executives are doing a terrific job. With them at the helm, Gannett's newspaper readership, revenues, and stock price have fallen substantially, and the corporate chief-tains are widely viewed as lacking imagination. But they are credited with "aggressive cost management"--a cynical euphemism for throwing employees in the ditch.

Once again, working people are sacrificed while top executives collect multi-million dollar bonuses.