Dispatchers from the Monroe County Control Center picketed outside the county courthouse in Stroudsburg to protest an impasse in their contract talks. Jeff Strunk, union president, said the public display was an attempt to get negotiators back to the table to decide on a new contract to succeed the one that is set to expire Dec. 31.

The negotiations stopped after an attorney hired by the control center refused to recognize representatives of the Services Employees International Union. The dispatchers unanimously voted earlier in the year to join the union, although the center claims the vote was invalid because it was not overseen by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.