As the United Auto Workers strike continues, the union is accusing non-union contractors of violence against picketers — including in a Flint, Mich., incident this week when five striking workers at a General Motors parts depot were hit by a vehicle, and two of them were hospitalized. The union on Thursday released a video in which UAW President Shawn Fain said, “We condemn this violence that GM and Stellantis are enabling,” and called on the public to join the picket lines.
GM
GM,
+2.50%
and Stellantis
STLA,
+2.45%
on Thursday both denied having hired any outside replacement workers. General Motors spokesperson Kevin Kelly said Thursday that the suspected driver of the SUV that hit the picketers was “a third-party housekeeping contractor” who was performing “normal duties,” and not a temporary replacement worker. Kelly added that the company is cooperating with an investigation by local authorities, and that the contractor and two others who were in the vehicle have been banned from any GM properties. In the video, Fain also referred to a UAW member and a Massachusetts state senator who were allegedly hit by vehicles at a Stellantis parts depot in Massachusetts, and to UAW members in Southern California who he said had had guns pulled on them by non-union truckers, also at a Stellantis parts depot. It was not immediately clear which Massachusetts state senator was allegedly hit by a vehicle. The UAW has not responded to a request for the name of the senator. Patrick Lozeau, the financial secretary for UAW Local 422 in Massachusetts, said in an interview with MarketWatch on Thursday that Paul Gato, the worker who was hurt in that state, was hit by a tractor trailer that pulled into a driveway very quickly late last week. Lozeau said Gato was “thrown backwards several feet” and had to go to the hospital in an ambulance, but is doing better. Since then, Lozeau said, “we have police coverage 24/7 now.” Originally, there were just two police officers assigned to the facility, and only at certain times. “Yesterday, there were 16 picketers and 23 police officers,” he said. Se …
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