DETROIT (WWJ) -- A man was hit by a semi truck while on the picket line Thursday morning, outside an Amazon facility in Detroit.
Teamsters Michigan President Kevin Moore said they were picketing in the driveway at the Amazon Fulfilment Center, on 8 Mile Rd. near Woodward Ave., when the a semi driver hit one of his workers.
Thankfully, the worker did not appear to be seriously injured.
"(We were) slowly walking across the driveway. This non-union driver come up the driveway faster then you're supposed to enter a driveway; you're supposed to enter a driveway at a slow pace," Moore said. "We were walking in a row, and my guy Roy was behind me. The truck come up and instead of stopping, banged into him. He didn't fall down, thank God, but you don't enter an egress like that."
Paramedics with the Detroit Fire Department arrived and took the man who was hit to be checked out.
In Detroit, the Teamsters are representing Amazon workers inside the facility who are not on the picket lines.
According to the Teamsters, this strike — which began at 6 a.m. on Dec. 19 — is the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history. The nationwide action follows Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters.
The workers are fighting for higher wages, better benefits, and safer conditions at work.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, in a statement. “These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
WWJ Newsradio 950's Mike Campbell reported there were fewer than a dozen people picketing Detroit Amazon facility. But Moore said there are many more out at facilities in Michigan.
"We've got nine of them on strike right now this morning, from there to Grand Rapids," Moore told Campbell. "Every one of them: Shelby Township, Detroit, Livonia, Romulus, Grand Rapids; they're all on strike."