SWARTZ CREEK, Mich. (AP) — About five United Auto Workers picketers outside a General Motors plant in the Flint area suffered minor injuries Tuesday when they were struck by a vehicle leaving the plant, police said.
The striking workers were blocking a driveway and an employee was trying to leave the Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek when the collision occurred shortly before 4 p.m., said Chief Matthew Bade of the Genesee County Metro Police Authority.
The employee drove through the picket line to leave the plant, Bade said. The employee has not been located. GM spokesman Jack Crawley issued a statement saying the company is “committed to the health and safety of all employees.”
“Plant management is working closely with local authorities to investigate and understand what happened,” the statement said.
Steve Dawes, president of UAW Region 1-D, told The Flint Journal that two of the five people affected were taken to a local hospital.
“It was inappropriate,” Dawes said. “These people are out here, you know, these are my members, and they are out here having a peaceful, legal demonstration.”
“This is very serious and we will take this issue forward,” he said.
The Flint Processing Center is one of 38 locations where workers walked off the job last week as part of the UAW’s expanding strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis.
Despite fears that a prolonged strike could weaken the economy, particularly in the key battleground state of Michigan, President Joe Biden encouraged workers to continue fighting for better wages at a time when auto companies have seen rising profits.