UFW Supporters to Sue Local A & P Supermarket

Local supporters of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) plan to file suit against a Cambridge A & P supermarket for allegedly displaying Teamsters Union lettuce under the UFW label.

David Nhaera, a Harvard coordinator for the UFW, said yesterday that three witnesses say they saw Teamsters lettuce in the stockroom of the store last Friday, at the same time that signs were displayed in the store claiming that only UFW lettuce was being sold.

"We are drawing up affidavits right now," said Nhaera. "The UFW label is a federal trademark and we plan to file suit as soon as possible."

Opens Stockroom

Frank Cavatorto, the manager of the Porter Square market, yesterday denied the charges and said that his store has carried only UFW iceberg lettuce for weeks. A quick inspection yesterday revealed no evidence of Teamsters lettuce.

The supermarket has been picketed by supporters of Cesar Chavez's movement for the last month. Cavatorto said that the picketers have harassed and insulted some of his customers.

"They [the demonstrators] should holler at the main offices where the lettuce is packed, not us," said Cavatorto. "We put out what is sent to us--UFW lettuce."

Mary M. Lassen '75, Harvard-Radcliffe coordinator for the UFW, said last night that the action is not a "personal vendetta" against Cavatorto's store, but that it is aimed against the A & P.

"A & P is the largest distributor of non-union lettuce in the country, buying over three million heads a week. We are attacking them because of their purchasing power," Lassen said.

On February 22 Cesar Chavez, director of the UFW, led a crowd of about 500 protestors in a march through Boston to support a boycott of A & P stores.