Brown's Library Users Face a Picket Line

Brown University students faced a choice between respecting picket lines and study as usual yesterday, as Brown's 95 library workers went out on strike.

Over 150 part-time student employees voted to join the strikers, who are asking for pay increases, clear statements of Brown's hiring and promotion practices, and restoration of some recently limited practices such as letting workers go home early during the summer.

The Brown Daily Herald also called for support of the strike. But it advised students not to respect the Services Employees International Union's picket line, and instead, to cross it in large numbers, check out enormous numbers of books, and generally harrass the library administrators who are trying to keep the libraries going.

Library use at Brown was off by about half yesterday, a Herald editor said last night.

Salary levels vary somewhat depending on individuals' jobs, but the striking library workers average around $4500 a year -- 73rd out of 78 major universities, according to one recent study.

Last Friday Brown's negotiators made a "final offer" -- including an average pay increase of 8.5 per cent but reducing the base pay for some jobs.

Brown has not yet commented officially on the strike. Officials at Brown complain of a financial crisis which they say necessitates relatively austere economic policies.

The over 600 library assistants at Harvard earn "considerably" more than library workers at Brown. Philip E. Leinbach, assistant university librarian for personnel, said last night.

Leinbach said the lowest starting salary for a library employee is above $4800 a year. with most salaries starting at $5500 or $6000 and going up with experience

"I don't think there's any momentum towards unionization here," Theodore G. Alevizos, librarian of Lamont Library, said last night. "People gripe about their salaries a lot, but it would really take a big push for a union to succeed at a place as big as Harvard."