Michigan State University Tech Position

[William Schneider]

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Hi all

As the remaining technician at MSU, I thought I'd respond to some issues =
raised in recent posts on the subject of the open position here. First, =
I enjoyed meeting Brad Smith, and would have found him a congenial and =
skilled colleague, had things worked out.

I am really in no position to get to the bottom of who gave Brad the =
higher wage figure that he cites as cause for his disappointment on =
arriving here. I think it unlikely that anyone intentionally pulled a =
bait-and-switch operation, but I do know that there are people who think =
they know or remember what the pay range is, who perhaps don't realize =
the seriousness of a misstatement on the subject. Given the sprawling =
web of authority and resposibility at this or any institution, getting =
the last word requires some research. Here at MSU, the most reliable =
sources for pay and benefit information would be MSU Human Resources  ( =
www.msu.edu ) and the Clerical-Technical Union (CTU)
            3498 E. Lake Lansing, Suite 100
East Lansing, Michigan 48823

Telephone:  355-1903

Fax:  353-3284

www.msu.edu/user/ctumsu


The position advertised is a CTU level 12, and is one of two co-equal, =
full-time Piano Technician spots. I believe the MSU School of Music has =
the option of hiring a new technician at either end of the level 12 pay =
scale, depending on the particular person's qualifications, etc.



Both technicians report to the Chair of the piano faculty, and are =
responsible for whatever needs doing. In practice, we two techs divide =
the work (on about 190 pianos) between ourselves as we see fit, and meet =
once per week with Prof. Deborah Moriarty who may, but usually does not =
offer direction on anything other than overall strategy.



I  believe Jeff Tanner's recent post gives a reasonable approximation of =
the benefits package here. Also to be mentioned are sick leave accruing =
at the rate of 1 day per month, vacation accruing initially at 1 day per =
month, and after ten years peaking at 2 days per month, plus FMLA leave, =
3 days per year of personal leave, etc. The figure I've heard most =
bandied about is that the total benifits package is worth 36% of base =
pay. (Be skeptical & check for yourself.)



The people here are appreciative, and Prof. Moriarty has been good about =
granting unpaid leave at times for techs to do higher profile private =
work, such as recording sessions or even tours with ensembles. There is =
a good market here for tuning and rebuilding if one cares to moonlight. =
Also, we do a fair amount of rebuilding of the school's pianos on site, =
which helps keep the creative juices flowing on the job and gives relief =
from tuning.



If any of you or your friends are at all interested in the position, I =
can talk to you informally and perhaps answer some of your questions. I =
can be reached at 517 230-6278 (cell).



Bill Schneider



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