<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m =
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml"><HEAD><TITLE>[CAUT] Reasonable job descriptions</TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16711" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE>@font-face {
        font-family: SimSun;
}
@font-face {
        font-family: SimSun;
}
@font-face {
        font-family: Calibri;
}
@font-face {
        font-family: Tahoma;
}
@font-face {
        font-family: Consolas;
}
@font-face {
        font-family: @SimSun;
}
@page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; }
P.MsoNormal {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"
}
LI.MsoNormal {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"
}
DIV.MsoNormal {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"
}
A:link {
        COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99
}
SPAN.MsoHyperlink {
        COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99
}
A:visited {
        COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99
}
SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {
        COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99
}
PRE {
        FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Courier New"; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: "HTML Preformatted Char"
}
P.MsoListParagraph {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-style-priority: 34
}
LI.MsoListParagraph {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-style-priority: 34
}
DIV.MsoListParagraph {
        FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-style-priority: 34
}
SPAN.HTMLPreformattedChar {
        FONT-FAMILY: Consolas; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: "HTML Preformatted"; mso-style-name: "HTML Preformatted Char"
}
SPAN.EmailStyle19 {
        COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-style-type: personal-reply
}
.MsoChpDefault {
        FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-style-type: export-only
}
DIV.Section1 {
        page: Section1
}
OL {
        MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in
}
UL {
        MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in
}
</STYLE>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></HEAD>
<BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jim Busby wrote:</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Jon,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">With
no true “credentials” that are universally recognized by administrators, and
when there are ten mediocre techs eager to accept CAUT positions at
lower salaries, how are we supposed to “stand up” to upgrade the field? I’m
not trying to be a jerk, and I’m not offended by your rather blunt statements
below, because you’re absolutely correct; we “deserve what we are metered
out”. But if we all did what Jeff did, would that force the issue with the
institutions? Not necessarily! Precisely because of what you wrote below; “The
attitude of the administration…Dime a Dozen” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>I certainly don't want anyone to think I've ever implied we should all
resign. It certainly made a point here at USC, in that as long as
I happily did my job and worked hard to impress the boss, no progress
was ever going to be made. They didn't think I was serious until I
quit. And after I left, they reclassified the position to a higher salary,
the new guy got the raise I'd been asking for for 9 1/2 years,
more help, more money and a shorter responsibility list. They had
Steinway come in and evaluate the situation and found out they needed 2.5 techs.
(Steinway carried more clout with the evaluation than did the PTG, because the
PTG guidelines unfortunately have the ability to appear self-serving.)
They also paid a bunch of money for Steinway to come in this summer with a team
of techs from across the country and replace something like 10 or 12
sets hammers that didn't need it, but that's another discussion.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think the reason it worked here, though, and I really can't stand to blow
my own horn, but the faculty did notice the quality of my work. We had
guest artists from across the country raving about our pianos. And once
the faculty saw the difference, the "dime a dozen" attitude changed.
But they either couldn't or wouldn't make the changes for
me. One problem was that the existing HR system is not set up to
allow classified employees to get real raises like employees in the private
sector. The only way to make big changes is to eliminate the position and
recreate it. The other problem is that the music faculty don't make much
either. Although, that really has nothing to do with the market for a
piano technician, they think their degrees are worth more than our
craftsmanship. (I found the book review in this month's journal to hit
some points right on the head.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But what I learned from the process is that there are really two ways to
improving salary, and neither one of them involves someone else noticing how
great your work is and generously offering to increase your salary.
That approach didn't work at all. You can request a reclassification,
which may and may not be successful. Or you have to have some
leverage. This is how faculty get salary adjustments. The boss needs
to believe you are about to take a job somewhere else, or about
to otherwise leave. And at the same time, he needs to be well aware
of your value as an employee and what it would be worth to not have to go
through a search and hire someone else, who may or may not perform as well
as you do. That's sort of the way I approached it. In my case, they
sort of called my bluff (by continuing to refuse to acknowledge the
job was too big and the salary was too small) and I had to have somewhere
to go. That's why I started the retail store 2 years before I
resigned. I wasn't bluffing, and they got the message and made some pretty
sweeping changes.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I picked a really crappy time to go into retail, but I think we're going to
make it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Now,
what is the solution? The options seem to be the
following;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoListParagraph
style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">1.<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN dir=ltr></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Maintain
the “status quo”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraph
style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">2.<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN dir=ltr></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Boycott,
quit en masse, or otherwise show solidarity and force the
issue<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraph
style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">3.<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN dir=ltr></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Gradually
upgrade each situation individually, one at a time<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraph
style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">4.<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN dir=ltr></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Establish
a CAUT credential as Eric, Fred and the CAUT committee is trying to
do.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraph
style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">5.<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN dir=ltr></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">(A
combination of the above #3 and #4)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">My
choice is #5; to push for a credential while trying to upgrade my own
situation. I have been offered twice the money in the private sector, but that
would mean I’d have to abandon the only place where I may be able to have some
influence on the situation. It would be comparable to someone angrily quitting
the union instead of staying in and trying to change it from
within.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV>#2 wouldn't work. And if anyone has ever gotten the impression that
was what I meant by "banding together", then, I apologize. That's not
at all what I meant. There's no way to get that kind of commitment without
the reinforcement of a union. (and a convenient "aside" here is that no
union member can work as a state employee in SC, and we're probably not the only
state with that rule)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think there is a modified #3 that the PTG can help with, and that is to
gather information from around the country that could be made available for
members. Information would include not only current salary ranges of as
many institutions in the country as we can gather, but the differences in
benefits packages as well (identify states/schools which have higher and lower
employee contributions, which type of retirement plans, or tuition perks,
for example). The fastest way to gather the information would be to have
all FTE techs respond to a standardized questionaire (that's a heck of a lot
faster than a couple of us getting online and digging through HR web
sites). Other highly pertinent information would be average gross earnings
of private sector techs, some formula for calculating a potential earnings like
I've suggested, and other tools that would benefit the employee. The
employer has all the tools it needs to rebutt any request. The employee is
the one who needs the information.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I appreciate the idea of the CAUT credential, but I'm concerned that after
all the work goes into it, it won't be worth the paper its printed on +++except
to us+++ because of the potential for it to be considered a self-serving
credential (really, a sad irony, because many of the attitudes in our
group show more concern for the welfare of the institution than the
technician). Somehow, it needs to attain some element of
non-bias. There are only a handful of us, and I can envision real
difficulty in staffing the process. It will be a massive project that
could realistically take 5 to 10 years for a technician to complete if
he/she can't afford to go to every national and regional convention every
year. When that's all done, there needs to be an accompanying financial
reward for the effort, or technicians will probably be reluctant to pursue
it. Currently, I am unaware of any kind of credential that doesn't
come from an accredited institution or government agency that is recognized by
any Human Resources department, and the PTG is neither. And until that
infrastructure is in place to recognize and reward the achievement, I'm
skeptical it will be any help at all. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In other words, with or without a credential, the technician will still be
faced with #3.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Now, the pursuit of the credential may result in improving the
skill levels of some technicians. There is no criticism from me of
that effort whatsoever. But, if higher competency levels are what we're
after, rather than placing that burden on the small CAUT group, why don't we get
the entire PTG behind an effort to create more classifications -- Registered
Concert Technician, Registered Rebuilder, or whatever, and have the CAUT
credential be able to be a part of a modular type of credential system?
Then the CAUT credential could really just focus on the few things that
does make the job different. Otherwise, the CAUT group is
going to find itself burned out.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But it shouldn't take such a credential for a piano technician with
solid basic skills to be better compensated than a starting truck driver
with a GED. (I know for a fact that log truck drivers in
South Georgia can make as much money as some of our CAUT colleagues
are paid, and they spend the majority of their day sitting in line waiting
to be loaded or unloaded) We really should be able to produce evidence
that the market for our skill -- even at basic levels -- is higher than
what universities are paying. Right now, what Human Resources departments
are using to establish salaries, is what other Human Resources departments are
paying for the same job. There is just a void of available
information. And I'm not picking on you Jim, you know that. I
respect you very highly. Please allow me to use your
example to make a point. But your "posting privately" response is
characteristic of why it is so hard to cultivate that information. We've
seen similar reluctance from other prominent members of our organization.
We're a private group. For some reason, we don't like anyone else to know
how well -- or poorly -- we're doing. I think we're going to have to be
more willing to share some things if we're going to be able to help each other
out.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This is more or less what I mean by "banding together" -- sharing
information to help others improve their situations. Sharing successes
like the one here at USC and Dennis Johnson's. When someone hears of
successes at other institutions it might just help them build the confidence to
start the process at their place of employment.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Now,
I really respect Jeff and don’t mean to say ill of him quitting, because he
needed to quit for many reasons.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The biggest of which was that while you say you are paying down your debt,
mine was going up, even with the extra $20K moonlighting. </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">When
Andrew Carnegie was asked “How much is the perfect wage? What should be the
standard salary for anyone?” He responded, “I know the answer. Here is the
salary that everyone should have; A little bit more.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, I don't think in terms of "perfect
wage". But I think we can do a better job of gathering and providing
evidence that the "market range" for our skills is much different than
what colleges are paying. And with all due respect, it seems to me
that that type of project would a more valuable benefit to our
membership than devoting our resources to the monstrous task of reorganizing the
CAUT archives, or some of the other seemingly trivial projects I've read
about in the past few weeks.</FONT><![if !supportLists]><![endif]><![if !supportLists]><![endif]><![if !supportLists]><![endif]><![if !supportLists]><![endif]><![if !supportLists]><![endif]></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff Tanner</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>