PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 7 (UPI) -- A planned union picket line by city firefighters has prompted U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to cancel a trip to Providence, R.I., officials said.

Biden and several high-ranking members of the Obama administration were to attend next weekend's annual U.S. Conference of Mayors in the city, but White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday the administration has agreed to a request to not cross a planned picket line, the Providence Journal reported.


The newspaper said the request from Providence Fire Fighters Local 799 comes as a blow to Mayor David Cicilline, a member of the mayoral group's advisory board who had lobbied hard to bring the conference to the Rhode Island capital for the first time. The White House move means U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and several Cabinet members in addition to Biden will not be attending.

"I'm disappointed we won't have the opportunity to meet with members of the administration," Cicilline told reporters Friday. "I'm disappointed they won't be here."

Contract disputes between the firefighters and the city have been going on for nearly a decade, the Journal said. The city reportedly has resolved about six of the 10 years' worth of unresolved contracts.