<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Aug 20, 2007, at 3:55 PM, Rob Goodale wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "></SPAN><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">For those full-time university staff techs:</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">I have been getting regularly ripped off by the Performing Arts Center hall. As typical I am responsible for tuning and maintaining pianos for UNIVERSITY business, (i.e. music department staff/faculty, orchestras, etc). However, when non-university outside groups come in such as visiting orchestras, high school competitions, pop bands, etc, I should be getting paid for my services. These groups are charged for renting the hall, use of the piano, </SPAN><U style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">AND</SPAN></U><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> a charge specifically for the tuning. Sometimes I even have to come in on weekends or late evenings for these events.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">During the last few years there has been virtually a complete turn-over of the music department personnel. Only a small handful of people are still here that were present when I arrived 8.5 years ago, including administration. For all practical purposes it is a completely different school. Over time my getting paid for outside groups has been slipping through the cracks. I have been protesting this for some time and the current administration hasn't a clue how to fix this. The chair says "talk to the department accountant". The department accountant says "talk to the performing arts hall administrator". The PFA says "I don't know how to fix this, go talk to the chair". No one wants to take responsibility for the paperwork to pay me. I made the suggestion that I check with some other university techs to see what procedures are used to pay the tech for these kinds of events. They agreed that would be helpful. Then they would have something to copy and can agree that it was done correctly. Whatever.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">So... for those university techs in similar arrangements, please tell me the typical procedure for how you get paid for outside events. At the moment the hall has been forwarding an annual. (or simi-annual), lump sum for my services to the music department which goes into the piano maintenance account. Then it sits there while I protest and not get paid. Last year I discovered someone stole about $3,000 of it to repair a bassoon!!</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">Thanks for your help,</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">Rob</SPAN></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>Hi Rob,</DIV><DIV>This is exactly why my predecessor turned down maintaining the piano at our university-but-not-school-of-music-owned performing arts center. We have a "dual-employment" policy here which won't allow us to be paid more than our complete annual salary. We can be "dually employed", but the other department is basically reimbursing our department for the portion of salary related to hours worked. I can't legally make extra money working for other departments. Neither can I be paid overtime -- only comp time. Money ends at 40 hours a week. (The pay scale is calculated at 40, but a full work week is 37.5.)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Since we're so understaffed for school of music piano inventory, our "official" policy is that I am only responsible for instruments owned by the school of music. The only exception we make to that policy is taking care of the piano at the President's House, which might as well be owned by the school of music. They made us pay for its complete restoration about 15 years ago. It's only usually once a year for a Christmas party or something, so that's not a bad deal. The performing arts center has been contracting with a very good technician in town since it opened. He is the only technician they will allow to touch the instruments.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I have filled in for him on occasion when he couldn't schedule a job, or if he was doing shop work that day and didn't want to interrupt that to make the trip in to town, but HE pays me after he bills the performing arts center. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>There is a lot of weekend work involved with the performing arts center, and he can bill them market rates. They could only comp our department for my hourly salary. At least a good technician is earning what he is worth for keeping the piano up.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>It really doesn't hurt my feelings that I don't tune for the Performing Arts Center, which adjoins our building. I am not asked to be here on weekends for no extra money.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Just let it go. You will appreciate the freedom more than the extra pay.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Aug 21, 2007, at 8:50 AM, Paul T Williams wrote:</DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;">Many of those were evening and weekend gigs, but I'm not compensated in my pocket. I do get to see a lot of shows for free, so I could look at it that way I suppose,<BR></SPAN></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Do the other venues in town compensate their tuners with free seats and no paycheck?</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;"> but some shows I'd rather not attend...</SPAN></FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>There ya go. I wouldn't put in any extra time I wasn't being compensated for. We're paid MUCH too little as it is. Going above and beyond the call of duty only results in higher expectations - not higher pay.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>