Times are tough enough for Steve Miller, the chief executive who's trying to lead troubled Bethlehem Steel out of bankruptcy. But he never thought the rapidly expanding rogues' gallery of CEOs would make his job even harder. Last month Miller appeared before an angry group of workers at Bethlehem's mill in Steelton, Pa., to explain why he might have to eliminate their pensions. As he urged workers to "stay on board" through this financial crisis, one man stood and shouted out: "Mr. Miller, the CEO of Enron told his people to hang in there and all he did was feather his own nest. How are you any different?" Stunned, Miller, a veteran of corporate turnarounds, said he didn't negotiate a golden parachute or big stock deal when he became Bethlehem's CEO last year. "I have no financial incentive to kid you about anything," he said. "But at the end of the day, you'll have to make up your own mind if you trust me."
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