Five people were injured Tuesday after a car drove through a group of people demonstrating outside the GM Flint Processing Center in Michigan. Demonstrators were participating in the ongoing UAW union strike. The driver has not yet been located.
According to a report from MLive, the incident occurred around 4 p.m. outside the GM Flint Processing Center located on 6060 West Bristol Road in Swartz Creek. Protesters were reportedly blocking an exit on West Bristol Road when the vehicle drove through the group of people. The Metro Police Authority of Genesee County says that five people suffered minor injuries, with two of those hit taken to a local hospital.
The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, and has yet to be located. According to UAW Region 1-D President Steve Dawes, the model of the vehicle involved was possibly a Chevy HHR or Chrysler PT Cruiser, and was painted in some kind of dark color.
“It was uncalled for. These people are out here, you know these are my membership, and they’re out here doing a peaceful, legal demonstration,” Dawes told MLive. “This is very serious and we’re going to be pushing this issue.”
The UAW initially called for strikes against GM, Ford, and Stellantis following expiration of the previous labor contracts on September 14th. The union is currently employing a targeted strike strategy wherein workers at only certain facilities are called on to strike, rather than all workers at all facilities all at once.
The UAW expanded its strike last week to include 38 parts distribution facilities at GM and Stellantis, citing a lack of substantial progress in contract negotiations between the union and the two automakers. The UAW opted not to expand strikes against Ford, stating that more substantial progress had been made in negotiations with the Blue Oval brand. The GM Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek was among those facilities called on to strike in last week’s expansion. Workers are represented by UAW Local 659.
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Comments
Your not supposed to block roads and others egress to those roads or you get someone pissed off enough so that’s what will happen. Didn’t you mother ever tell you to not play in the street.
Maybe drive defensively vs running down pedestrians demonstrating legally and leaving the scene that is now a crime on operator of vehicle!
Sounds like they did drive defensively.
So you would hit a kid in the street? You think it is ok to to use your car and hit a person in your way on purpose? You and a lot of others on here are worse than terrorists.
Go to work your hurting a lot of people financially cause of your greed.
Oh I don’t know, maybe don’t block a public roadway…
It’s not a peaceful, legal demonstration if they are blocking traffic. They are breaking the law and asking for problems.
Says Stan? My understanding, pedestrians have the right of way and one should operate a vehicle defensively and not deliberately use vehicle to hit or run over pedestrians. More importantly operator should have been calm, shut off vehicle and contacted law enforcement to complain. Not use vehicle as a deadly weapon AND leave the scene of a crime! Last time I checked it was illegal to hit and run!!
LOL, yeah if I’m stopped, surrounded, and feeling threatened by a screaming mob, I’ll just calmly shut off my car and wait for someone to come rescue me? LOL, that’s not how it works.
Oscoda Bill, Thank you for letting us know about that. I too question why GM management of that factory did not make contingent plans for strike. Example: How many exits from facility should be coned off (blocked or locked) with having one exit security controlled by either local law enforcement or private security guards. I also wonder why local law enforcement did not have officers on site to keep everything legal.
By law all entrances the union members use day-to-day are allowed to be pocketed.
I meant Picketted
Picketed not blocked.
Stan: Why put your vehicle in that position? Are you looking for a hit and run charge?? Why did GM plant management have any constituency plans for strike. Like having only one exit guarded by law enforcement detail to enter and exit? Why was exit gate not locked. Management has blame here for being perfunctory in their safety duties. We can debate and allege all we want. However, let an investigation proceed proper. I wonder if hit and run turned themselves in immediately to nearest police station to help sort incident out.
I don’t disagree that management and local law enforcement could certainly have helped the situation to be avoided. However, ultimately the strikers chose to break the law and cause the confrontation.
How do you know it was a screaming mob? Were you the POS that ran into them?
LOL, wrong state. I wouldn’t live in that blue state.
Avi,
A pedestrian is to find as a person walking along a road or developed area.
These are picketers. According to teamster.org,
DON’T prevent vehicles from entering or exiting the facility. DON’T cause damage to company vehicles or other property. DON’T get in heated exchanges. DON’T threaten anyone with bodily or property harm (explicit or implied). DON’T get arrested — remember this is practice. DON’T in any way obstruct entrances or exits of the …
Maybe they had kids to pick up with no other option!,!
We were walking out the way still don’t give him the right to run us over
Why did the union officials allow the picketers to block a public road? Not only is that illegal but being in a public road endangered the lives of the picketers. Were these union officials and picketers unable to understand the potential danger that standing in a public road could present? Maybe the first step here should be charging union officials with gross negligence in that they obviously did not properly instruct the picketers on the dangers of standing in the right-of-way of vehicles in a public road.
Fain told the picketers before the strike started that they were not to interfere with employees who worked at the targeted facilities that were not on strike. I think that was just lip service because obviously the minions didn’t listen and the union doesn’t seem to mind them blocking roads and driveways.
Oscoda Bill: Are you sure they were blocking a public road? I ask because you used a question mark (?) in your first sentence of your comment. Your other questions as allegations need to be responded by union officials and/or picketers. Regarding charges, it would be proper to first find the perpetrator of hit and run to find out why as operator of vehicle to reason he hit and ran from the crime scene vs sitting calmly in his vehicle and calling 911. As an operator of a vehicle I would have chosen to not put myself and vehicle in that strike climate. Don’t go looking for trouble. Now driver is up for a hit and run and human beings are in hospital and/or injured.
The article says that “Protesters were reportedly blocking an exit on West Bristol Road”, I left the question mark because while it seems likely that this is a public road but I do not know for sure.
Anyway, while I agree that the driver of the car should not intentionally hit people the union officials also have a responsibility to not place their members in a potentially dangerous situation (standing in a road with moving vehicles) in order to further the union cause.
Everyone has the right to protest but it has to be a civil protest you cannot block streets or roads and impair traffic so that even emergency vehicles can’t get through maybe that /Driver had to get to his kids school to pick up a child the point is play stupid games win stupid prizes.
Bill: And management of plant has a duty to have constingency plan of how to govern their exits proper. Like shutting down and locking gates on all except one entrance/exit along with having a law enforcement detail governing that one only open entrance/exit. It does not take a college degree to understand management safety official was perfunctory in their safety duties UNLESS upper management strategized to not do anything for safety to gain public on managements side vs safety of all.
Avi: But if it’s a public roadway, that is on the law enforcement, not plant management—that’s not technically their property and could also be seen as illegal. Frankly, this “accident” has nothing to do with the plant management or employees, it’s individuals who have BOTH chosen not to follow the rules (picketers by blocking the road and the driver committing hit and run).
Avi, the UAW called the strike, the UAW directed which facilities were to be targeted, the UAW obviously requested/authorized UAW members to picket, and the UAW even provided the picket signs. Yet, in all of your posts on this topic you blame either GM or the police for the lack of compliance with the law and the resulting dangerous conditions on the picket line. These UAW members are obviously taking their direction from UAW leadership. Do you think that they would have gotten out of the road if an GM safety officer requested them to get off the road? Are you actually contending that the UAW leadership has no responsibility in this event?
Happens every time. At least once.
Beachy29579: Plant management safety official should have had contingency plans for entrance/exit control with security personal.
I was taught at a very young age not to play in traffic.
Stan: These are not children playing. Last time I checked striking workers are legally allowed to picket in our democracy. NOW, whom is responsible for governing picket lines proper? Why were there no law enforcement detail on strike site??
Picket on the sidewalk then…why do they feel the need to block driveways, especially with cars and trucks actively using that driveway? They won’t use law enforcement on strike details…it is a waste of public resources and it is on private property. If the strikers were in the road causing a traffic issue, then the police would step in. IMO, the plant should be utilizing private security and barricades to ensure that anyone that has business with the facility can get in and out safely.
Do they really need law enforcement to tell them not to block traffic, as you said they are not children.
The United States is a Representative Republic not a Democracy. Public School and the Media have failed you Avi Sir.
As a pedestrian back in the 70s I was struck by a car during a ice storm. The young woman never cleaned her windshield. She was ticketed. My point is the car always wins. Don’t challenge people in a vehicle. You’ll just get hurt.
Mr C: Was the vehicle being so called ‘challenged’? Where was law enforcement contingent to govern the strike site?
If you believe that picketers weren’t actively trying to block plant traffic from entering or leaving the plant, you must be living under a rock. It happens with every strike. I have seen a few videos over the last week where picketers were stopping tractor trailers and other cars from using the plant entrances. If the picketers interfere with plant operations or cause traffic issues, then the police should be called and someone should be going to jail.
I find it laughable that the UAW rep was saying that they weren’t blocking the driveway. I have seen several videos over the last week where picketers were stopping truck drivers and other vehicles from entering the driveways of the facilities that were on strike. I believe the Ford plant had tractor trailers that were blocking traffic because the strikers wouldn’t let them turn into the facility. This happened during the last strike against GM 4 years ago. Even when this strike began, Fain told his minions that they were not supposed to interfere with employees who were not on strike and allow them to enter and leave the facility peacefully. Apparently, that isn’t the case. If you play in traffic, you’re running the risk of getting hit by a car and if that was the case, the strikers share some fault in this as well as the driver. It doesn’t make the situation right, but if they had just been demonstrating on the sidewalk, they wouldn’t have been hit.
Under no circumstances is it alright to run over a person or persons with a car .To say it is alright is just wrong . Only a coward would drive away.
Only a moron would play in traffic…
But, it’s ok to play in traffic? It doesn’t take a genius to see a few ways that could go wrong…someone who drives away may be a coward, but the picketer trying to play traffic cop isn’t to bright either.
You’ve obviously never had to cross a picket line. Stopping would have been a great way to wind up in ICU or dead; however, they should have contacted local PD after getting a safe distance away.
Only a pos would hit someone with a car on purpose.
Never is it alright to run over someone with a car it is just wrong. Accidents happen sometimes, but to run away that is a coward
Two wrongs here but it’s a predictable result.
Union leadership is partly at fault for not expressly forbidding this type of foolishness.
I’ve never agreed with blocking vehicular traffic, access or egress, whether on a street or a private drive. It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s antagonistic, confrontational, and dangerous for everyone – even to those not directly involved. There’s no excuse for it. And, it leads to situations like this where no one wins. The driver will rightly suffer great consequences when he/she is ID’d, and the picketers are already feeling – quite literally – the consequences of their actions. A costly lesson for all of them.
In other news, Donald Trump’s motorcade was seen speeding away from the Flint processing center at 4:01pm.
(Hey, I’m just trying to lighten up the comments. It’s a joke).
Yep they just lost my support. If they are blocking traffic run them down. This is getting out of control. You want to protest or strike do it legally and the public will get behind you. Break the law and lose public support.
AVI!
#1 It’s not the local authorities job to make sure that they’re picketing correctly no sense in wasting the taxpayers money when the picketers should be doing their strike responsibly.
#2 It’s not the responsibility of the plants workers to make sure people go out of their way to go around the picketers when the picketers aren’t supposed to be blocking any access or exit roads either public or private.
#3 The Union member that is charge of this strike should be arrested for putting its members at risk and not enforcing that they do their picket legally and correctly If they violate the law.
Wow, a play right out out the democrat handbook… they f*cked around and found out. When we stop tolerating this behavior it will go away.
I live close to this plant and drive passed daily. While there is no excuse for the picketers to get hit by a car, they do stand very close to a moderately busy 4-lane road. While driving passed after dark I did not see the picketers and failed to move into the left lane. It startled me once I was saw them but since there was another car beside me so I could not move over although I did slow down. I will add that the plant entrance that they stand at is not a very well-lit area. It is almost like they are asking to get hit. Also, the speed limit where they stand is 50MPH and cars often travel pass there at speeds well above that. I’ve caught myself running 60MPH through there at times.
I am not sure what is possessing these folks to stand right on the curb. Me personally, I would be standing several feet back in a safe zone. I hope their union leader asks them to stand back to prevent more of these issues with a potentially worse outcome.
don’t see much support for the all-powerful UAW here at all LOL
For one the picture is of the Davison Rd CCA plant, 2 it happend at the Swartz Creek CCA location, for 3 the driver purposely aimed for the picketers, get your facts straight before you guys commit on something clearly you weren’t a part of, and or witnessed yourself.
This is what they do, they make you stop and stare you down for a while. Case/IH hired the Police to stop this when the UAW striked them.
All of the currently available video over the past week, clearly shows the picketers walking slowly & stopping in order to obstruct the vehicles that are either leaving or entering these plants. Even if it the plant entrance/exit & therefore private property, this is just plain wrong & not supposed to happen, but guess what?? they seem to be okay with it.
This happens at almost all strikes during the picketing, & they do this in order to be confrontational & try to create an incident.
Memories of the Black Lives Matter protests.
There are rules that separate legal picketing from mob riot. Should the picketers fail to follow the picketing rules they then become rioters and fair play is out the window.
This is a half-baked article without all the facts. So, a car goes through a roadway, driveway, whatever hitting several people and sending two to the hospital. It was a screaming mob, but nobody got the license plate number off the car? Good one. This rubbish isn’t worth reading. Who owns GM Authority, Rupert Murdoch?
Play stoopid games, win stoopid prizes. Block ingress and egress? Oh well prepare for the worse.
Gotta love a bunch of GM employees who couldn’t tell the difference between an HHR or a PT Cruiser.
The driver was surrounded and threatened, I don’t think they did anything wrong. protesters in the street are at fault and should be liable for damages to the vehicle.
I was part of a strike protest at one time. We were instructed to walk on the public sidewalk and not interfere with any free flow of pedestrian or vehicular access. You can’t protest on private property. You do have the right to walk on the sidewalk even when a driveway crosses it. You move when a vehicle enters. I said it before, this article lacks all specifics and is very amateur at best. What time did this happen? Was a police report available? Sounds like some guy got the story from his cousin joe bob who got it from some guy he sat next to at the bar. Very poor. Worthless.
I used to be part of union workers and never seen anything this crazy. I will honestly laugh if the big 3 say screw using the union workers since its contract time and go to regular employment. Yall are asking for way to much and going to bankrupt them all over again after we are already in a losing car division. At least i know why i say we cant have american made anymore. Car prices will go thru the ceiling but union doesnt care about that part. Issue isnt pay in our country its the lack of regulation on what we have to pay to live in our homes.
Do you realize how much profit these companies have made in the last year? I would love to have you for an employee. I would never have to give you a raise. If these companies are worried about going bankrupt, it’s time to cut back on the $20 million salaries for their CEO’s. And don’t tell me they are worth it. I have held stock in numerous companies that were driven into the ground by greedy corporate brass. Then they blame the workers. Get your hands dirty once in a while Rob. These are negotiations. Give and take. They (people like GM Authority) always like to spin the facts toward whatever side they favor.
Play stupid games ya win stupid prizes. Maybe next time these union thugs won’t block the ingress and egress for a business.
COWARDS RUN AND HIDE LIKE SNAKES IN THE GRASS, YOU MAY NOT AGREE, BUT THE THESE WORKERS HAVE A RIGHT. GREED FROM CORPORATE AMERICA, LACK OF FAIR WAGES, AND LACK OF COST OF LIVING WAGE INCREASE IS A GOOD REASON TO EXERCISE THE RIGHT FOR WHAT IS DESERVED. IGNORANCE IS ACCEPTING LESS THAN WHAT ONE DESERVES AND ALLOWING FEAR TO ACCEPT THE BELOW STANDARD OF HAVING A JOB WITH SECURITY. CORPORATE AMERICA MAKES MILLIONS OFF THE AVERAGE WORKER AND EXPECTS SILENCE, BEING OVERWORKED, AND UNDERPAID. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I APPLAUD AND SUPPRORT STRIKING UAW WORKERS FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO DEMAND WHAT IS DESERVED.