<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16681" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You're thinking like a self-employed technician.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In an employment situation, how can that be price fixing or restraint of trade?  Encouraging each member to individually pursue the highest income possible is only in the best interest of all of us.  Someone needs to be an advocate for the employee.  Nobody else is standing on the side of the piano technician.  Why shouldn't it be the PTG?  Isn't one of the selling points of our organization that RPTs earn more than non-RPTs?  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I still disagree to a point about the CPA story.  Yes, this particular individual demonstrated his ability and that, in part, but only in part, earned him that particular income.  But if he was the only CPA in the country making that kind of money, and all the other CPAs were making $75 to $100K for example, there's no way he gets that salary.  The boss says, "sorry son, that's just not the market for a qualified CPA, no matter how much money you've saved us" and they would have let him go and hired someone else just as competent for a fraction of the pay.  But because other CPAs at other companies could also earn that kind of income for the work they also do, that lent support to the market for his half a million salary as well.  </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>But none of those CPAs would be making a half a million if they all listened to the rest who were satisfied making $75K and talking about how good the benefits were.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That's basically what happened here.  </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>No matter how hard I worked or how competent I was, no matter that if they didn't have a full time tech, they'd have been paying double the amount for a contract tech for the same work, the dean knew I was making about all he was willing to pay anybody, because he knew what the market was across the country.  I could not "prove my own worth to those who could pay a higher rate", to interject your reasoning.  The system isn't set up for that.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=A440A@aol.com href="mailto:A440A@aol.com">A440A@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, June 17, 2008 1:44 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Jeff writes:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" cite="" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Our profession is quite unique in this way. We are so isolated and job openings occur relatively infrequently compared to other professions and so we must band together in some way to benefit the whole.  We are as strong as our weakest link, and as long as we have qualified technicians who accept lower salaries because they don't share the same perspective on economic issues, then we are a weak chain.</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR>  I am not sure, but what you seem to be advocating is either price fixing, or restraint of trade.  That would be suicide for the Guild to try to support that.  <BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" cite="" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">The reason Wim's son, the CPA makes half a million is because other CPAs have worked to increase the market value of their profession. </FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR>     I disagree.  I know several CPA's that make far less than that.  I would suggest that he is making that much money because he has proven his own worth to those that can pay him that rate. <BR>Regards,  <BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Ed Foote RPT<BR>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html<BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT><BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.<BR>(http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>