Start at the Top

It looks like the governments of the United States and Canada are going to send money to Chrysler, Ford and General Motors to help them survive. Doing so will guarantee employment for thousands of autoworkers. The benefits will be passed on to many others in their communities when they spend their wages.

In Canada, we are told that there will be conditions on the loans. I think I have heard the same happening in the United States.

Here is one condition I would like to see. Give the executives of these companies – the people at the top – a fraction of the money they made before. Better yet, pay them the same wage an assembly worker gets, and then give them a commission on the profits. If the companies loses money, they get the same wages as the rest of the workers.

One may argue that they are worth more than this. Are they? I could have done the same as they did for half the wage.

What kind of money are we looking at? GM’s top five executives make over $7 million in salaries. The top gun, G. Richard Wagoner, received a total compensation in 2007 of $14.5 million.

Is it fair for them to work for a commission? When I sold radio advertising, that’s what I did. It wasn’t easy. Anyway, aren't these people paid to run the company successfully?

Certainly agreeing to these kinds of conditions would send a message to the world that these people are serious about trying to get the auto industry back on track. After the three auto executives’ flights to Washington in private jets, I think their images could use some removing of the tarnish. It would also show tremendous leadership.

I remember when the Ottawa Senators was in a financial crisis. The team looked as if it might fold and it was late in paying the players. The captain, Daniel Alfredson, instructed the management to pay the rest of the team before him. If there wasn’t enough money to pay him, then the team could reimburse him when it had the money. It was one of the classiest acts I have ever seen in sport (take note Don Cherry and Alfredson is Swedish).

I think the leaders of the auto industry need to follow this example. In fact, there should be a few other industry leaders who should take note.