UAW president scathing on Ford CEO's pay

DETROIT, March 23 (UPI) -- United Auto Workers President Bob King tipped his hat to Ford President Alan Mulally Wednesday, then said his salary was reprehensible.

"I think Alan Mulally is a great CEO, but I don't think any human being in the world deserves that much money. I think it's outrageous," King said at a union powwow in Detroit.

"I like Alan Mulally," King said. "But I just think it's morally wrong," he said referring to Mulally's compensation package for 2010, which included 3.8 million shares of company stock, The Detroit News reported.

Pointedly, he also said, "In fairness we don't want to make the companies we have a good relationship with uncompetitive in the market place."

Union leaders are meeting to discuss contract negotiations. UAW contracts for Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler expire Sept. 14.

Ford spokesman John Stoll said King's remarks were not a sign that contract talks would be difficult this year.

"We have a history of working collaboratively together to find solutions to critical issues, and we look forward to our discussions with them later this year," Stoll said.

For a union, taking a swipe at high executive salaries was par for the course, said Dave Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research.

"Business as usual," Cole said.