Federal labor leaders' salaries lag behind trade association execs'
While the top executives of the country’s biggest trade associations make well over $1 million per year in total compensation, labor union officials -- especially those representing federal employees -- take home far less in compensation, according to a National Journal survey.
While the top executives of the country's biggest trade associations make well over $1 million per year in total compensation, labor union officials -- especially those representing federal employees -- take home far less in compensation, according to a new survey.
The study, conducted by National Journal magazine in its Feb. 21 issue, shows that despite a slow economy, compensation for chief executives of Washington-based associations continues to rise rapidly. Thirty-two executives earned more than $1 million in salary and benefits in 2002, according to filings with the Internal Revenue Service.
Gene Upshaw of the National Football League Players Association had the top salary at more than $2.7 million per year. But Robert Glauber of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the regulator of the NASDAQ stock market, far eclipsed that with a total pay package-including benefits and other allowances-that topped out at more than $9 million per year.
Filings with the Labor Department analyzed by National Journal show that the top officers of labor unions make far less than such executives. The overall average compensation for the union sector was $231,487. And within that sector, representatives of federal employees tend to be on the lower end of the scale.
For example, while Gerald McEntee, international president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, took home a total compensation package of $310,342 in 2002, Bobby Harnage, the then-president of the largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees, received $135,868. Colleen Kelley, the head of the second-largest federal union, the National Treasury Employees Union, received $170,133.
Likewise, the pay for representatives of rank-and-file postal workers lagged behind that of representatives of local employees such as firefighters and teachers.
The study did not look at compensation packages for officials at all of the unions representing federal employees.
In the chart below, "compensation" refers to salary and ordinary bonuses. "Benefits and allowances" refers to contributions to benefit plans, deferred compensation and expense accounts.
| Organization | Revenues | Top Officer | Compensation | Benefits/Allowances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Federation of Government Employees | $42,298, 217 | Bobby Harnage* | $130,468 | $5,400 |
| American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | $151,594,645 | Gerald McEntee | $294,639 | $15,703 |
| American Federation of Teachers | $166,864,312 | Sandra Feldman | $265,433 | $94,972 |
| International Association of Fire Fighters | $32,849,193 | Harold Schaitberger | $211,176 | $1,198 |
| National Association of Letter Carriers | $773,972,904 | Vincent Sombrotto | $158,749 | $0** |
| National Postal Mail Handlers Union | $47,842,483 | William Quinn | $82,549 | $17,785*** |
| National Treasury Employees Union | $26,340,199 | Colleen Kelley | $167,733 | $2,400 |
*Union is now headed by John Gage
**Compensation reflects partial year. President is now William Young.
***Quinn was president for six months in 2002. He was succeeded by John Hegarty, who became national president on July 1, 2002. Hegarty received compensation of $81,137 and benefits and allowances of $15,734 during the second half of 2002.