University of Washington President Mark Emmert told staff and students yesterday that a cut to his $900,000 salary was on the table. Great. As I mentioned before, I think his salary is hard to defend in these economic times. If leaders are going to ask employees to sacrifice, they need to do so as well. But you know what would make such sacrifices even more palatable? If employees shared in the good times as well as the bad. Wall Streeters and techies aside, many workers saw the bubble pass them by while their businesses did gangbusters. Now that their businesses are in trouble, they’re being asked to take salary cuts and pension freezes. This should be a time to negotiate a new compact between employers and employees, and those with any leverage would be well served to tie concessions to commensurate rewards when the upturn finally comes.