[CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position

[Jeff Tanner]

Ed,
You're thinking like a self-employed technician.

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?  

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.  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.

That's basically what happened here.  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.

Jeff



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: A440A at aol.com 
  To: caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 1:44 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position


  Jeff writes:


    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.


    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.  


    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. 


       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. 
  Regards,  

  Ed Foote RPT
  http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html



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