(The following story appeared on the Roanoke Times website on March 9.)
ROANOKE, Va. — A federal hearing involving a dispute between Norfolk Southern Corp. and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen over the closing of a Roanoke signal shop was suspended Monday due to pending arbitration.
Susan Bland, spokeswoman for NS, said the hearing is not rescheduled at this time.
Richard Edelman, who represents the union, said NS will not dispose of the signal shop until the arbitration process is complete. He said the parties are in the process of choosing an arbitrator.
In January, the union threatened to strike when NS announced that it would close the shop, leaving 18 workers out of a job. Union officials argue that NS violated a contract prohibiting either party from making changes regarding the shop, which is the last of the NS signal shops.