Statement?

[Michael Jorgensen]

Hi Jeff and All
         Thanks for responding, I hope this stimulates discussion.   Have
cauts made any salary progress since 1990?
        Established private sector techs are "highly paid professionals".
Unabashedly, we should insert that and/or similar descriptive phrases into the
guidelines to bolster our pay and status.
     Comparing to self employed techs has one concern.  Private techs work at
high wage, but many work few hours so total yearly incomes can be low.

Comments?

-Mike

Jeff Tanner wrote

> category of "highly paid professionals".
>
> How about the following or similar statement as a part of the Guidelines?
>
> "The piano is the most basic tool required for teaching music in a
> collegiate level school of music, thus large diverse inventories are
> required to be able to offer a quality education.  Pianos are expensive
> investments, and their upkeep in the institutional setting requires
> exponentially more attention than in the home or church setting due to more
> frequent use and abuse combined with inadequate climate control situations
> which create additional damage and instability.  There is also a higher
> level of performance expectation for the institutional instrument due to
> the higher level of instruction.  Institutional schools of music, for these
> reasons, cannot view piano maintenance as a luxury, but as one of the most
> fundamental requirements for its successful operation.  Therefore, it
> follows that the upkeep of pianos in an institution would involve greater
> cost than for the average piano in a home, church, or school system.
>
> The salary for a full-time institutional piano technician should be
> competitive with that which can be earned by successful technicians and
> other similarly skilled professionals in the local private sector
> reflecting the true value of the skill involved in piano maintenance, with
> fair consideration given to compromise for the value of added benefits of
> group insurance and retirement plans available to the institutional
> technician and the stability of a predictable income, while it must be
> sufficient to support a respective standard of living for a family in the
> area where the position is located without requiring the employee to seek
> supplemental income in the private sector."
>
> The first paragraph sort of rewords ideas found throughout the current
> Guidelines, but sets up the second (yes, one long sentence), which
> addresses a subject the current guidelines does not.  This is from my
> research report to my dean.
>
> Thoughts?
> Jeff
>
> Michael Jorgensen wrote:
> >Hello,
> >    IMHO the "Guidelines" should in include the following or similar
> >statement:
> >
> >"We strongly recommend piano technicians report exclusively to the
> >department chair, director, or dean of music   Because the service is
> >vital to the well being of the entire school, and must balance
> >appropriately the needs of all constituencies, it should not be
> >subjugated to a lesser authority.   This  helps to ensure that, as
> >highly paid professionals, technician time and resources are used most
> >wisely."
> >
> >Comments?
> >
> >-Mike
>
> Jeff Tanner
> Piano Technician
> School of Music
> University of South Carolina
> Columbia, SC 29208
> (803)-777-4392 (phone)