Antitrust?  Unless that came from a lawyer, I would have trouble believing
it.  Heck, our government cannot even clearly define antitrust laws.  I have
called personnel offices (or human resources) for the pay ranges for
histology and have never been denied this information.  How else could
anyone gauge whether or not an institution would be worth working for?

The person who told you that may have had faulty information.

Dave Reynolds, HT(ASCP)
Alaska Native Medical Center
Anchorage, Alaska  99508


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Verrucous@aol.com [SMTP:Verrucous@aol.com]
> Sent:	Friday, April 21, 2000 1:51 PM
> To:	HistoNet@pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject:	$ surveys
> 
> Dear Colleagues,
>     Have you ever been told that it is a violation of the antitrust law to
> 
> ask another Histologist in another hospital about their wages? I was, and
> I'm 
> shocked! 
>     We are a small laboratory that includes  Pathology, Nuclear Medicine, 
> Cytology, and Histology departments. For years we have surveyed other
> local 
> labs to justify any wage increases and other benefits.  
>     We surmise that the Pathologists , with whom we negotiate, survey
> their 
> colleagues for the same information.
>     Times have changed, and we're now employees of a larger company. The
> new 
> employer tells us that we may only collect "public information" or buy a 
> survey.  We could loose our jobs if we do otherwise. 
>     I understand that antitrust law prevents collusion between companies  
> driving up their price to consumers by price fixing. Fine, me too. I 
> understand trade secrets, and proprietary formulas of products.  It's a 
> secret! If we had one, you can bet I'd keep my big mouth shut too! 
>     This feels a little bit like Big Brother is watching (and listening).
> I 
> hope I'm wrong. I like my work.
> Bruce
> 
>