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12/19/2008 1:23:51 PM

2

12/19/2008 1:23:51 PM

2

12/19/2008 1:23:51 PM

ahahaha

12/19/2008 1:30:04 PM

12/19/2008 1:41:08 PM

i dont know what kind of salary the ppl boasting 20% would have to begin with anyways.

if you are already making above 50k, i just dont see it happening without a promotion or something. of course if they start you off with shit pay i guess it makes sense.

12/19/2008 1:56:27 PM

I don't think it happens without a promotion.

12/19/2008 2:01:21 PM

we got an email saying raises and bonuses would be reflective of current economic reality - that's vague. i'm just happy to be doing what i love while sustaining a decent life.

12/19/2008 2:01:33 PM

yeah for bonuses, our equation's highest factor is overall business performance,


yeaahhhhhh

12/19/2008 2:02:45 PM

Quote :

"OMG, I got 25% bump, LOSERS! Last year I got 30%, though. This puts my annual total compensation at just over $500K. You guys must really suck."

what do you do again?

12/19/2008 2:50:13 PM

he's an internet hero

12/19/2008 2:53:21 PM

<--- Senior VP of Internet Heroes

12/19/2008 3:03:00 PM

Quote :

""A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay. Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it. “As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain,” said Daniel O’Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group. “This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter.” “Look at the way the economy is and how most people aren’t counting on a holiday bonus or a pay raise — they’re just happy to have gainful employment,” said Ellis. “But you have the lawmakers who are set up and ready to get their next installment of a pay raise and go happily along their way.” “They don’t even go through the front door. They have it set up so that it’s wired so that you actually have to undo the pay raise rather than vote for a pay raise,” Ellis said.""

12/19/2008 3:15:43 PM

Quote :

"The Senior Citizens League"

12/19/2008 3:18:48 PM

Quote :

"i dont know what kind of salary the ppl boasting 20% would have to begin with anyways. if you are already making above 50k, i just dont see it happening without a promotion or something. of course if they start you off with shit pay i guess it makes sense."

some fields are just naturally set up to either progress you quickly up the ranks or weed you out. I have gotten several nice pay raises that didn't have a promotion attached with them, although titles changes don't seem to mean as much when you work for a smaller company.

12/19/2008 4:35:46 PM

I started working someplace 2 1/2 months ago and I fucking hate it and I want another job, but the economy is in the tank, so I need to try and wait it out.

12/19/2008 5:14:01 PM

finally an external communication:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/425013.html

Quote :

"Duke Energy is freezing salaries for about half of its 18,000 workers in an effort to weather the recession, company officials confirmed Friday. The Charlotte company will freeze wages in 2009 for managers, supervisors and salaried workers in finance, information technology, human resources, engineering and other technical positions, according to a memo sent to employees Thursday afternoon. Hourly-paid administrative workers, craft employees who repair, maintain and install electrical and mechanical equipment and a specific group of supervisors who oversee those craft employees will not be affected. The freeze is a proactive move to help the company cope with lower sales, company spokesman Tom Williams said. Freezing salaries and other efforts, such as minimizing travel and postponing the construction of new plants, will help keep Duke Energy from laying off workers, he said. “It's tough,” Williams said. “This is a very tough decision, and it's clear management struggled with this for some time.” In the memo, company officials say it was a prudent decision. “Duke Energy's financial position continues to remain strong; however, we're not immune from the impacts of the recession,” it said. “For several months, we, like other companies, have experienced lower-than-expected revenues as our customers look for ways to reduce their expenses – including their electricity and natural gas.”"

i find the last paragraph ironic, considering duke is pushing their save-a-watt program

[Edited on December 19, 2008 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

12/19/2008 5:14:28 PM

yeah, Uber, it is funny how we are trying to save all the money we can yet we go out to:
- Build a useless Biomass Plant
- Build a Wind Farm in Texas (no where near our service area and we got out of the merchant energy business, aka wtf?)
- Look at putting solar panels on roofs

Also, at the plant I work at, they have recently:
- Added a DirectTV television in the cafeteria
- Scraped up all of the parking lots to have them repaved
- Started replacing perfectly good office material with new office material

At the end of the day, all of this stuff (including freezing salaries now) is just a show for the stockholders. Cause it was reiterated several times that we have a "strong balance sheet."

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to have a job - unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can't say that. I just have a problem "taking one for the team" when it isn't really needed.

12/19/2008 9:33:22 PM

Uber, also for your reading pleasure:

"Duke electric customers to see rate decrease
Dayton Business Journal 12-18-08

Ohio utility regulators on Wednesday approved a new three-year rate plan that will bring a 3.8 percent reduction in residential electric rates for Duke Energy customers, effective Jan. 1.

“We believe this net price reduction will be a welcome relief to our customers during these trying financial times,” said Julie Janson, president of Duke Energy Ohio.

For the typical residential user, consuming 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, monthly bills would decline by $4.58 to $117.06. Business customers will receive a 4.4 percent reduction; industrial customers will see rates decline by 5 percent.

The reductions are the result of lower fuel costs, which are being passed on by the utility. Those savings are offset by a 2 percent increase in Duke Energy’s base cost for power-generation services, resulting in the net reduction of 3.8 percent for 2009.

The new rate plan allows Duke Energy to increase the base rate by 2 percent in 2010. Another pending rate case could lead to an additional rate increase for Duke Energy customers in the second quarter of 2009.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), based in Charlotte, N.C., includes the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky, and PSI Energy in Indiana. The company also operates Duke Power in the Carolinas. Its coverage area includes parts of Butler and Warren counties."

The biggest reason for our decreased revenue is a relatively mild year, not consumer's habits shifting. That's why you'll see a shift in the last couple weeks due to the cold snap - it'll push us back towards our incentive target. Either way, Duke would not be reducing rates unless we were wanting to appease the regulators (which we might want to in Ohio due to the recent fiasco) or we are getting near our peak profit margin (which means we are doing mighty fine profit wise there). I don't know which it is in Ohio.

12/19/2008 9:40:51 PM

You could always...quit. In this economy, I'm sure you'll be able to land a job making the kind of salary you think you deserve with some other company. Go for it!

12/19/2008 9:47:10 PM

I got an unexpected bonus in this week's check. It wasn't a lot but was still money I was not counting on.

WOOHOO!!

12/20/2008 4:04:26 PM

got my 2-week bonus as usual this December, but it was because it was coming from last fiscal year (march07-march08) profit.

our raises got pushed back from january to march, but in the past it's been at 5%, but that's because we get other increases in two bonuses per year, profit sharing, and esop. hurray for an all cash company!

12/20/2008 7:19:19 PM

Quote :

"what do you do again?"

I mainly make up lies on TWW to try to top other obvious liars.

12/20/2008 7:35:39 PM

Quote :

"$1.6 billion went to bailed-out bank execs Records show bonuses, chauffeurs, health club benefits, financial planning The Associated Press updated 1:09 p.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 22, 2008 Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals. The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages. Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found. The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee and a long-standing critic of executive largesse, said the bonuses tallied by the AP review amount to a bribe "to get them to do the jobs for which they are well paid in the first place. "Most of us sign on to do jobs and we do them best we can," said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. "We're told that some of the most highly paid people in executive positions are different. They need extra money to be motivated!" The AP compiled total compensation based on annual reports that the banks file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 116 banks have so far received $188 billion in taxpayer help. Among the findings: # The average paid to each of the banks' top executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits. # Lloyd Blankfein, president and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, took home nearly $54 million in compensation last year. The company's top five executives received a total of $242 million. This year, Goldman will forgo cash and stock bonuses for its seven top-paid executives. They will work for their base salaries of $600,000, the company said. Facing increasing concern by its own shareholders on executive payments, the company described its pay plan last spring as essential to retain and motivate executives "whose efforts and judgments are vital to our continued success, by setting their compensation at appropriate and competitive levels." Goldman spokesman Ed Canaday declined to comment beyond that written report. The New York-based company on Dec. 16 reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999. It received $10 billion in taxpayer money on Oct. 28. # Even where banks cut back on pay, some executives were left with seven- or eight-figure compensation that most people can only dream about. Richard D. Fairbank, the chairman of Capital One Financial Corp., took a $1 million hit in compensation after his company had a disappointing year, but still got $17 million in stock options. The McLean, Va.-based company received $3.56 billion in bailout money on Nov. 14. # John A. Thain, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, topped all corporate bank bosses with $83 million in earnings last year. Thain, a former chief operating officer for Goldman Sachs, took the reins of the company in December 2007, avoiding the blame for a year in which Merrill lost $7.8 billion. Since he began work late in the year, he earned $57,692 in salary, a $15 million signing bonus and an additional $68 million in stock options. Like Goldman, Merrill got $10 billion from taxpayers on Oct. 28. The AP review comes amid sharp questions about the banks' commitment to the goals of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), a law designed to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets. Last month, the Bush administration changed the program's goals, instructing the Treasury Department to pump tax dollars directly into banks in a bid to prevent wholesale economic collapse. The program set restrictions on some executive compensation for participating banks, but did not limit salaries and bonuses unless they had the effect of encouraging excessive risk to the institution. Banks were barred from giving golden parachutes to departing executives and deducting some executive pay for tax purposes. Banks that got bailout funds also paid out millions for home security systems, private chauffeured cars, and club dues. Some banks even paid for financial advisers. Wells Fargo of San Francisco, which took $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, gave its top executives up to $20,000 each to pay personal financial planners. At Bank of New York Mellon Corp., chief executive Robert P. Kelly's stipend for financial planning services came to $66,748, on top of his $975,000 salary and $7.5 million bonus. His car and driver cost $178,879. Kelly also received $846,000 in relocation expenses, including help selling his home in Pittsburgh and purchasing one in Manhattan, the company said. Goldman Sachs' tab for leased cars and drivers ran as high as $233,000 per executive. The firm told its shareholders this year that financial counseling and chauffeurs are important in giving executives more time to focus on their jobs. JPMorgan Chase chairman James Dimon ran up a $211,182 private jet travel tab last year when his family lived in Chicago and he was commuting to New York. The company got $25 billion in bailout funds. Banks cite security to justify personal use of company aircraft for some executives. But Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., questioned that rationale, saying executives visit many locations more vulnerable than the nation's security-conscious commercial air terminals. Sherman, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said pay excesses undermine development of good bank economic policies and promote an escalating pay spiral among competing financial institutions — something particularly hard to take when banks then ask for rescue money. He wants them to come before Congress, like the automakers did, and spell out their spending plans for bailout funds. "The tougher we are on the executives that come to Washington, the fewer will come for a bailout," he said. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28337800/ MSN Privacy . Legal © 2008 MSNBC.com"

12/22/2008 2:10:45 PM

4.8% better than nothing

12/25/2008 4:07:21 PM