Excerpts From Newark Star-Ledger Article: Majority backs Lucent pay proposal

For the second straight year, Lucent shareholders yesterday voted to rein in pay of senior executives. But Lucent again defended its incentives plan. "We believe our current long- term programs do align employees' interests with those of shareholders," spokesman William Price said after Lucent's annual shareholder meeting in Wilmington, Del.

Fifty-three percent of voting shareholders approved a nonbinding proposal that would link at least 75 percent of senior executives' stock incentives to performance goals. A similar proposal garnered just more than 50 percent of the vote last year.

The measures were endorsed by the Lucent Retirees Organization, which has cited a 50 percent drop in share price and eroding benefits since Pat Russo became chief executive in 2002. Russo's total compensation for 2005 was $8.25 million, according to Lucent filings with regulators.

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