Union Criticizes Cox' Selection as Mediator

The head of the United Federation of teachers has sharply criticized the selection of Archibald Cox, Samuel Williston Professor of Law, as a mediator of the contract dispute between the U.T.F. and the New York Board of Education.

Cox and two other law professors were appointed to a three-man mediation panel by Mayor John V. Lindsay last Saturday.

Albert Shanker, who heads the 49,000- member teachers' union, said yesterday that this trio was "not equipped" to do the job and that their selection "greatly increases the possibility that schools will not reopen on Sept. 11."

Shanker thinks that Theodore W. Kheel, the New York lawyer who helped settle other teachers' contract disputes, is the man for the job. He said, however, that his union would meet with the panel and would not directly appeal to Lindsay to change its make-up.