GM: Employee banned from property after hitting picketers with car
By Emily Brown
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SWARTZ CREEK, Michigan (WNEM) — General Motors (GM) has released a statement following the incident where five picketing United Auto Workers (UAW) members were hit by a car on Tuesday.
The incident happened near the General Motors Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
According to Metro Police Chief Matt Bades, employees from the plant were trying to leave and picketers were blocking the driveway.
A dark colored Chevy HHR hit five striking UAW workers and the person behind the wheel drove east on W. Bristol Road.
Four workers suffered minor injuries and one was taken to a hospital.
Mike Castro, a UAW member from the processing plant in Burton, called the incident evil.
“I don’t think you should hurt someone over an idea or a view. Once someone actually starts taking harmful actions that infringe on someone’s rights, then you have a right to defend yourself and, really, an obligation to defend yourself and defend others.,” Castro said. “But over ideas, I think people like that become the thing that they hate. And if someone did that on purpose, even if they didn’t do it on purpose, the fact that they left, they ran, they fled the scene – it’s evil and it’s selfish.”
David Barnas, communications representative of GM, said a third-party housekeeping contractor, employed by Malace, is suspected of hitting those five picketing employees with his car while attempting to leave the processing center after working a normal shift, preforming normal sanitation duties.
Barnas said GM is cooperating with authorities on their investigation
Barnes released the following statement:
“In response to this event, we have informed Malace that the suspected employee along with two other Malace employees who were in the vehicle at the time are no longer allowed on any GM property. Additionally, we have conducted safety talks at all GM facilities with active picketing activity to reinforce the expectation and requirement that any employees who experience picketers blockading entry or exit to our property contact site security to help them safely proceed past the picketing employees. This reinforcement is in addition to picketing safety talks that had already been completed with salaried and contract employees across all GM sites with UAW-represented employees.”
If anyone has any information on this incident, contact the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County at 810-820-2190.
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