Pawtucket firefighters picket Mayor’s fundraiser over contract, working conditions

February 26, 2019 10:39 pm

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — The legal battle between firefighters and the City of Pawtucket is starting to add up as contract negotiations drag on. The firefighters let the mayor know about their many concerns tonight while picketing outside of his fundraiser. Members of the firefighters’ union feel like they’re not being respected in these negotiations for the dangerous job they do. Mayor Grebien says they’re asking for something the city simply can not afford.

After nearly 1,000 days without a contract, Pawtucket firefighters hit the picket line Tuesday night, outside of a fundraiser for Mayor Grebien.

“I don’t feel we’re being respected for what we do. We’re not greedy people, we’re not asking for the world, we’re asking for basic living conditions and a fair livable wage,” says Erik Cordeiro, the Vice President of Local 1261.

In addition to increased wages, there are obvious concerns over the conditions of the fire stations in the city. Station 3 will be close for several weeks in March for repairs. They’re happy about that but say in the meantime it’ll force response times to go up.

“They’re displacing that rescue and engine further away from the district. As firefighters, we have concerns and residents should also be concerned,” says Cordeiro.

Mayor Grebien says public safety will not be compromised with the temporary closure and the picket is just a ploy to mislead people.

“Their outrageous asks for contracts and trying to push me in this position and say hey, it’s not [outrageous], is not fair,” says Mayor Don Grebien

He adds the union has been dragging its feet with negotiations, a tactic that’s costing tax payers in legal fees by calling for multiple arbitration hearings.

“They want to have safe and clean work environments, which they should, we have that responsibility. We need to provide public safety as well, but they can’t have it all and ask for a 6% raise which is about $4.2 million of tax payer’s money,” says Grebien.

The firefighters in Pawtucket got moral and public support from the state association of firefighters.

“This is unusual, it’s been too long. The mayor has settled with every other bargaining unit within the city except ours,” says Joseph A Andriole, the President of the RISAFF.

The mayor and union will be meeting next Monday to continue negotiations. The union representative says they’re too far apart on simple issues to reach an agreement anytime soon.