What do unions do to CEO compensation?

In this paper we estimate the relation between union presence and CEO compensation, using a unique panel of publicly listed US firms for the period 1992-2001. We find that, on average, union presence: 1) is significantly associated with lower levels of total CEO compensation; 2) affects the mix of CEO compensation by providing higher levels of pay but much lower stock option values; 3) lowers dispersion of CEO compensation across firms; and 4) does not significantly reduce the performance sensitivity of CEO compensation as compared to non-union firms.