CEOs cushioned from downturn in 2008

Last year was abysmal for American workers, right? Not if you’re a CEO. Reuters reports that more CEOs saw pay increases last year than saw pay cuts. On top of that, “the median salary for CEOs of 200 large corporations increased by 4.5 percent to $1.08 million,” according to a new survey released Tuesday by the AFL-CIO, and “CEO perks went up, on average, 12.5 percent in 2008 to $336,248 — or nine times the median salary of a full-time worker.”

Coinciding with the survey’s publication, the labor organization launched the Executive PayWatch Database, a searchable Web site that shows how 2008 executive compensation compares to earnings by workers in other fields — or how much CEO pay could provide in, say, health insurance. For instance, Daniel Murphy, Jr., chief of Edina-based defense contractor ATK, raked in total compensation of $7,221,396 last year, according to AFL-CIO data,  equivalent to the combined annual compensation of 18 U.S. presidents. Ecolab CEO Douglas Baker, Jr., took home 25 percent less in 2008 than in the previous year, but his $7,157,832 compensation package breaks down to $57 made every minute.

A big gainer: Target CEO Robert Ulrich made ten percent more in 2008 than in 2007. His $20,106,361 package, if put to other uses, could provide health insurance for 4,724 uninsured workers or a year’s worth of daycare for 2,838 working moms.