Firefighters' protest taints RI's image

PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) - As the Providence Firefighters’ Union is preparing to picket the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Rhode Island Convention Center, critics say the protest could damage Rhode Island's reputation.

High profile officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have already backed out because the firefighters plan to picket the conference. Now the damages may go beyond the conference itself.

Providence firefighters put together 250 pickets with five separate messages as they prepare to condemn Providence Mayor David Cicilline outside the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Providence Convention Center, starting Friday.

Providence firefighters are upset that they have been unable to agree with the mayor over a new labor contract. Scott Mello, a member of the Providence Firefighters’ Union doesn’t see anything wrong with their plans to picket.

“I think it’s going to show that we can deliver our message,” Mello said.

Critics feel the plans to picket has already done Rhode Island, as well as the conference itself, a disservice by keeping away top U.S. Officials. Bob Burke, a Rhode Island restaurant owner, agrees with the critics.

“People need to realize that the U.S. Conference of Mayors is like a cow-milking contest. The mayors come and they’re already to milk the federal government for everything they can get, and the government is here ready to be milked,” Burke said.

“The problem is that because of the union action, there are no cows in our milking contest, which means the mayors don’t even want to come because there is no money that they are going to get from the administration because the administration isn’t here," Burke said.

Critics fear a missed opportunity to host Vice President Joe Biden could further damage Rhode Island’s reputation as a dysfunctional state with high unemployment and high taxes.