Jeff, I think you miss the point…this isn’t about a piece of paper. Maybe if techs felt better about their skills, their work and worth they would hold out for more money…none of this happens overnight, it will have to be incremental.. I think the people who pass through this program will have a better sense of self-worth and more bargaining chips than someone who hasn’t and will in all likelihood be able to bargain for a better starting salary. This is leverage. I think you’re wrong to think more education will only make you a better tech. Hopefully, it will also make you a smarter one when it comes to working the salary system. We all know about the pay-grade system…it sucks. But if we all are working towards putting it more in line with reality, things will change one school at a time. I have moved my position up 3 pay grades since I’ve been here and my assistant’s up one grade. I’ve used every bit of leverage I could to raise it the first 2 grades, but the last raise was because I was able to convince the HR dept. that my position warranted it and they CREATED the new position. This even took place at a time of significant budget cuts. This is the grade where my successor will start. This is progress, no??? This is the reality on which I’m basing my faith that our educational efforts will pay dividends in the long run. I don’t really understand what leverage you might have exerted to get your position changed AFTER you left, but it sounds like somebody really benefitted from all your labors. Eric BTW, I would need at LEAST 6 figures to be able to afford the mental and physical health ramifications of tuning spinets and old uprights all day, every day for 50 weeks a year… Eric Wolfley, RPT Director of Piano Services College-Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Tanner Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 3:28 PM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification ----- Original Message ----- From: Joe Goss To: caut at ptg.org Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 12:24 AM Subject: Re: [CAUT] Caut Certification Hi It would be a bargaining chip the bean counters could better relate to. The more letters after your name the smarter you are supposed to be Taint so but------- Joe Goss BSMusEd MMusEd RPT imatunr at srvinet.com www.mothergoosetools.com<http://www.mothergoosetools.com> Hi Joe, all, With the highest respect due... I think this is the misconception that the CAUT endorsement is based on. Unfortunately, it isn't based in reality. The Human Resources job classification system doesn't allow for it to be. The unfortunate reality is that there is no way for HR to recognize any difference between a candidate endorsed by PTG and one who just read a few books and started tuning last week. The salary band is the same for both, and it is too low for both. What the CAUT committee is trying to "create" is something the search committees already expect we are supposed to live up to, and they still think so little of us that they are still offering full time positions at $40K for a high level concert tech and thinking that is a great salary for a non-tenure track position, while techs tuning spinets and old uprights can make six figures. Job descriptions are one thing. Job classifications are another thing all together. One can write a job description for a piano technician that outshines the presidency of the United States. But if there isn't an existing job classification that will adequately accommodate it, you are unfortunately stuck with overqualified people in a job class that is below their qualifications. That is where we are - ALREADY. You can't put a job description for a janitor, no matter how well written, into a job class for medical doctors. The CAUT endorsement is a wonderful concept for self-improvement. In that regard I have no opposition to the idea. But it will have zero effect on the salary situation of full time piano technicians, short or long term. The reality is that an RPT (or equivalent, and yes, it exists) with the right attitude can develop all the skills necessary for a CAUT job in the first 6 months on the job. I was scared to death when I took the South Carolina job, but within 6 months I had developed a confidence level in my skills I'd not had in the 14 years prior. But by that point, the faculty had absolutely no concern as to whether or not I was an RPT (and I wasn't at the time). They just knew they liked my work. The only thing that will ever affect the salary situation is leverage. And the other faculty members will tell you the same thing. The way they get pay increases is by applying for other positions that pay more and going back to their deans and saying "look, match this salary offer or I'm leaving." We can't really do that because that really doesn't exist for us. The only alternative is self-employment, and you can't show them a salary offer for that. You have to threaten to quit and be prepared when they call your bluff. I quit my position after working hard for almost 10 years to prove my worth. AFTER I quit, they did what I had been asking for for years: Reclassified the salary to a higher band, increased STARTING pay for the next incumbent 15% more than my final salary and reduced responsibility to 1/3 of what I had been responsible for. And the guy they hired has never been a PTG member. That's how you make improvements to the situation. Leverage. More education and training might make you a little better tech. But it won't help your salary. Jim, your $2K per tech idea is right on the money -- but it won't be because of a CAUT endorsement. It will be because techs start insisting on higher salaries. Let me say it plainly -- THEY ARE NOT GOING TO OFFER YOU MORE MONEY BECAUSE YOU'VE EARNED YET ONE MORE PIECE OF PAPER SAYING THE PTG ENDORSES YOUR WORK. THEY WILL OFFER YOU MORE MONEY ONLY IF YOU INSIST ON IT. Fred Sturm wrote (about tuning): Determining "what matters and what doesn't matter" is a fundamental part of becoming a skilled professional. If we spend a lot of our energy pursuing perfections beyond "what matters" and in realms that "don't matter," we are wasting that energy. Goodness knows, there is always more to do than there is time to do it. We need to focus on "what matters." Wow! Fred, I couldn't agree more. This profound concept might be the fundamental concept of professionalism. It certainly also applies to improving the circumstances for salaried college piano technicians. Jeff Tanner -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20090619/b6cfc752/attachment-0001.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC