State Anti-Discrimination Official Meets With Coop on Allegations

A representative of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination met yesterday with Coop general Manager John Morrill and other Coop officials to review the progress of the Coop's efforts to hire more Negroes.

But Erna Ballentine, the MCAD commissioner, refused to comment yesterday on the meeting, saying that Massachusetts law required her to keep her findings confidential while the case is still pending. Another meeting between the MCAD and Coop officials has been set for June 19.

The investigation of the Coop's hiring practices began last March, after a Negro saleslady complained to the MCAD that she had been shunted to an office job because of her race. A head-count taken by the Coop management then revealed that fewer than ten of the Coop's 600 employees were Negroes.

Deny Bias

Coop officials have denied any racial discrimination by their employment office. They say the only reason for the low number of Negro employees is a relative lack of Negro job applicants. They have recently begun a campaign--including advertising in Roxbury newspapers--to recruit more Negro job-seekers.