DETROIT (AP) — A United Auto Workers official says about seven to nine union picketers were arrested for blocking a roadway at a General Motors plant in Tennessee.

Local UAW Chairman Mike Herron said the arrests came Wednesday at the Spring Hill plant after authorities asked the protesters multiple times to get out of the road. Herron said he believes the protesters were afraid trucks might get into the plant.

Herron said at a news conference that police and the sheriff's department have done a fantastic job and have been supportive during the ongoing strike.

He said arrests take the union off its message.