As the United Auto Workers and General Motors continue to work on putting together a new labor contract, picket lines in the GM strike have become contentious, as striking workers attempt to stop delivery truck drivers from crossing picket lines.
On Tuesday, police in Flint Michigan were called to local picket lines as strikers physically blocked delivery roads with their bodies. It’s not clear what was actually in the trucks headed to the GM production facilities.
According to Metro Police Authority Lt. Joel Grahn, authorities have received seven calls pertaining to the GM strike in the last several days.
“There’s been three to four … personal injury accidents,” Grahn told mlive.com. “Our officers get there and every single time no medical attention is requested. Their union is requesting a police report.”
Grahn also acknowledged the local ordinances that address inference in “an ingress or egress of a driveway for business use to not disrupt normal business, but we understand the bigger picture here.”
Burton Police Chief Mike Odette told mlive.com about one striker who was “face-to-face with the grille of a semi-truck.”
As UAW members continue the GM strike, truck drivers have been forced to park along the sides of the road, resulting in a build up in traffic.
“The problem is we had semi-trucks backed up a quarter of a mile and they were refusing to allow them in which is causing a public hazard on the roadway and putting themselves in danger,” Odette said.
Speaking to an on-site UAW coordinator, Odette said that “we’re not looking to stop you guys from picketing. We just want to make sure you guys are doing it safely.”
As the GM strike continues into its third day, UAW members aren’t budging.
“We did a lot for GM when they went into bankruptcy,” said retired GM employee Roxanne Williams, who reportedly moved to block a truck attempting to cross the picket line. “Retirees and workers, we sacrificed to give to them. It’s only right that they sacrifice and give back.”
Two people were reportedly handcuffed and temporarily detained in the back of police cruisers during the strike. No arrests were made.
Meanwhile, contract negotiations are ongoing, and despite no progress reported earlier in the week, the negotiations are now apparently slowly advancing.
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Source: mlive.com
Comments
Those are some creative signs they have there!
look at all those cry babies, they don’t know how good they have it!
Looks like a group of very healthy ( and FAT) autoworkers….
Many Americans have been pushed back to part-time wages, due to high health care costs and in this picture very high cholesterol levels. Free health care for the fat beer drinker!!!!
Auto-workers definitely live above the mean income line and their benefits are also better than most American workers.
Maybe these workers just need more BEER money!!!!!
You can strike all you want but stopping someone from doing a job just makes those who don’t like unions not like them more. I hate to tell these guys but they did nothing for GM for the BK, that’s why they went that way but of course the Union got a lot out of it just not the workers. Too bad these union people don’t realize how the union is only wanting more money for themselves they don’t really care about the workers.
Looks like a group of very healthy ( and FAT) autoworkers….
Many Americans have been pushed back to part-time wages, due to high health care costs and in this picture very high cholesterol levels. Free health care for the fat beer drinker!!!!
Auto-workers definitely live above the mean income line and their benefits are also better than most American workers.
Maybe these workers just need more BEER money!!!!!
The union wants more money because times are good right now and GM is very profitable, but when sales fall off again GM is going to be in a bad squeeze if the union gets their way. You can’t set your cost targets based on the good years, you have to set your cost based on the middle of the cycle or lower to be sustainable. Bad timing for the contract to be up.
Look at all those overpaid mindless robots. You would swear they work hard. I’ve seen the work these people do up close and 90% would never make it if they had to get a real job like the rest of us have. They are so babied and coddled with all the UAW red tape they create. The jobs most these people have, a bum off the street could do in no longer than an hour. They simplify the jobs so much now days you can mentally checkout and still never fail at your job