Still Not Quite in the Poor House

Workers at Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. want company shareholders to vote on two resolutions that would link the chief executive’s pay to that of rank-and-file workers.

That could hit CEO Peter Kahn right where it hurts: his pocketbook, which would be cut in half.

The main union says Kahn’s total compensation in 1992 was $1.9 million--more than 40 times the average Dow Jones salary of $45,000--but one of the resolutions calls for a limit on CEO compensation to 20 times that of the average Dow Jones salary.

The second would peg annual CEO raises to the percentage raise received by the average Dow Jones employee.

A Dow Jones spokesman labeled the union’s proposals a”publicity gimmick” tied to ongoing negotiations at the paper.

Overcompensation of senior executives and the frequent absence of any link between pay and performance has emerged as a major management issue over the past several years.