St. Paul firefighters will be taking their frustrations over the pace of union contract negotiations to one of the city's busiest streets Wednesday.

After more than 200 days without a contract, off-duty members of Firefighters Local 21 plan to picket at Snelling and Laurel avenues starting at 8:30 a.m. They are hoping to prod Mayor Melvin Carter back to the table for — among other things — increased staffing levels.

"There has been no progress in negotiations because Mayor Carter continues to stonewall," according to a statement by Mike Smith, president of St. Paul Firefighters Local 21. "We've had no progress because Mayor Carter would rather disregard employment labor laws and blame St. Paul firefighters while he gambles with public safety."

Kamal Baker, a Carter spokesman, said the mayor has asked union leaders to set up a meeting "to engage with members directly." But the request has been declined over the past several months, Baker said.

"The Carter administration remains proud of the investments we are making in the St. Paul Fire Department and hopeful that our ongoing good-faith negotiations with Local 21 will soon culminate in a signed agreement," Baker said in a statement.

Smith did not immediately respond to a message seeking additional comment. But in an email announcing the plans to picket Wednesday, he said firefighters responded to more than 62,000 calls for emergency services a year ago and are on pace to surpass that in 2023. Yet, he said, "We are forced to respond with the same number of firefighters on the streets that we had 50 years ago. We can only stretch resources so far before they eventually break."

He accused the mayor of holding "funding to put more firefighters on the front line hostage and [refusing] to bargain in good faith."

Smith said there will be no work stoppage during the picketing action.

"We have a long history of bargaining matters of public safety in good faith," he said. "Now's not the time to gamble with public safety and hold the safety of our members and this community over [their] heads."