Lansing picketers 'cautiously optimistic' about end of UAW strike against GM
LANSING — The propane tank inside a tent on the front lawn of a General Motors parts plant ran out on Monday morning as striking workers began hearing about a tentative agreement that could end the UAW's "stand-up" strike that began six weeks ago.
About 150 workers have maintained a strike line at the Lansing plant since Sept. 22, when they joined the already-underway United Auto Worker strike against Ford Motor Company, Stellantis and General Motors.
The Lansing parts plant, on West Mt. Hope Road, is one of dozens across the nation at which employees struck; Lansing's Delta Township Assembly plant joined the strike a week later.
More: Lansing area UAW auto workers approach month on strike line
General Motors and the UAW reached a tentative agreement, less than 48 hours after the union struck the automaker's Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.
A person familiar with the agreement said the parties reached the deal in the early morning hours Monday after solving questions about the automaker's joint-venture battery plants. The person asked to not be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.
The UAW already has a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. that it reached Wednesday. It reached a deal with Stellantis Saturday that mirrors the tentative pact with Ford.
Dwight Jackson, president of UAW Local 1753 in Lansing, said that at noon Monday he and other strikers had heard about a tentative agreement that could end the strike, which has seen up to 45,000 of the union's 150,000 autoworkers picketing.
He said the strikers will continue until a deal is official or union leaders ask for a halt.
"We are winning," Jackson said.
The weather has been testing the strikers, this week, with temperatures in the high 30s Monday afternoon as the faintest of snow flurries began to fall. A handful of workers huddled by a campfire, tossing some of what may be the last few logs onto the fire.
Ken Clark, 66, who has worked for GM for 40 years, said he was eager to hear the details about the agreement and optimistic the strike would end with enough of the UAW's demands having been met.
The strike is the fourth major walkout he has been part of and he said, from his perspective, it has been handled better than any other as he praised the work of national UAW President Shawn Fain.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," Clark said. "Cautiously optimistic."
Detroit Free Press reporters Jamie L. LaReau and Eric D. Lawrence contributed to this story.
Contact Mike Ellis at 517-267-0415 or mellis@lsj.com
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing picketers 'cautiously optimistic' about end of UAW strike
