A union of Caesars Entertainment Corp employees has asked its board to remove several private-equity representatives from the compensation committee, citing high pay for top executives as Caesars’ operating unit emerged from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. “Executive compensation at Caesars is out of control,” said a Las Vegas affiliate of Unite Here, which represents more than a third of Caesars’ 52,000 workers. The union cited concerns including large stock awards to leaders including Caesars Chief Executive Mark Frissora, and that directors will not hold an advisory vote on executive compensation at their annual meeting scheduled for May 30. The company’s April 10 proxy shows Frissora made $23.9 million in 2017, up from $9.5 million in 2016. The increase mainly reflected the value of a one-time grant of $16.5 million in restricted stock meant to retain his services, the proxy states. In addition to the removal of Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital representatives from the compensation committee, Unite Here asked Caesar’s board to increase employee pay and to cap CEO pay at 150 times that of the median employee. Frissora made 601 times as much as his median worker last year, according to the company’s proxy, reflecting the new “pay ratio” disclosure requirement for U.S. companies this year.
