A car struck five United Auto Workers union picketers in a hit-and-run while they were protesting in Michigan on Tuesday, police say.
The driver of a dark Chevrolet HHR was trying to exit the General Motors facility on Bristol Road in Genesee County but was blocked by picketers, the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County said in a news release.
The driver then drove through the line of picketers, hitting five people, and fled, police said.
The victims sustained minor injuries, and one was taken to a local hospital.
“Investigators are in the process of identifying the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle,” police said.
Police issued a warrant late Thursday for a 19-year-old Flint man, whom they didn’t name. Authorities said he was working as a third-party employee at the plant and wasn’t an employee of General Motors.
The UAW, the largest union in the U.S. auto industry, went on strike Sept. 15 against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
About 18,300 workers are involved in the strike, which is 12.5% of the UAW's 146,000 force. The number of strikers may grow, the union warned, if significant progress isn’t made in negotiations by Friday, said a source familiar with the matter.
Among the union's demands are a 40% wage hike over four years, beefed-up retirement benefits and full pay for a shortened 32-hour workweek, down from 40 hours.