Truck driver accused of hitting three UAW picketers, one incident caught on video
A United Automobile Workers leader has accused a truck driver of hitting three people at a picket line outside a plant in Michigan.
UAW Local 659 president Steve Gruener says that one truck driver struck three UAW picketers — two men and a woman — at a General Motors Customer Care and Aftersales plant in Swartz Creek, Michigan, in separate incidents this week.
Breaking : @UAW Local 659 president says 3 union strikers, 2 men and one woman, were hit by the same truck driver in separate incidents. It happened outside CCA plant in Swartz Creek. @nbc25fox66 pic.twitter.com/cDLm7qRYKa
— Joel Feick (@joelfeick) September 17, 2019
A UAW member shared video of one of the incidents during which a picketer was reportedly hit by a truck. You can see that video below.
NBC25 says that no serious injuries have been reported.
The picketers are participating in a nationwide strike against GM and are seeking better pay and improved working conditions.
The Metro Police of Genesee County are investigating the UAW’s claims against the unnamed truck driver. Metro Police Authority Lt. Joel Grahn told MLive, “There’s been three to four … personal injury accidents. Our officers get there and every single time no medical attention is requested. Their union is requesting a police report.”
Grahn said that there are ordinances that forbid “interfering in an ingress or egress of a driveway for business use to not disrupt normal business, but we understand the bigger picture here.”
Clashes between picketers and truck drivers have also been reported at the Burton facility this week. Burton Police reported that trucks were backed up for a quarter of a mile because strikers refused to let them into the facility on Tuesday afternoon.
The video below was captured at the Burton facility on Tuesday. In the clip you can see a woman standing in front of an advancing semi truck with her arms outstretched.