Workers, retirees cheated as Verizon CEO gets $18M | Asbury Park Press

As a retired Verizon management employee, I think I can speak to the Press' Aug. 9 editorial " Verizon unions must face reality."

It is true that people are turning away from landlines towards wireless. Verizon is one of these wireless providers and is quite profitable.

It is also true that many corporations and municipalities are declining to pay promised benefits to their workers. It was quite a few years ago that Verizon management employees/retirees began contributing to their own health benefits, and a few years later their pensions were frozen.

That's just wrong, considering that recently retired Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg annually received $18 million in compensation - yes, that's annually - and he is not alone. Most CEOs take these kinds of salaries/benefits out of their companies. Is it any wonder that there is a recession?

How long can a company go on when its profits are stolen and not reinvested back into the company? I think it is time that the American people face reality and recognize that our country cannot survive on the path it has been on for the past 20 years. These multimillion-dollar salaries can buy research/development, increase the national GNP, create jobs and care for all our citizens.

Ask yourself what you would do if you were given Seidenberg's salary for just one year. Wouldn't you help your family, fix your home and donate to your community? Mr. Seidenberg, Verizon employees are your family, Verizon is your home and the U.S. is your community.

Susan Dulong
STAFFORD