Strike three, they’re out?

Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

At long last, the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against the Big 3 automakers appears to be coming to a close after roughly six weeks of picket lines, plant closures, posturing and pontificating.

On Wednesday, the UAW and Ford Motor Company, which assembles the most vehicles in America, reached a “preliminary agreement” that appears will become permanent. At issue were fears over employment security during the transition to electric vehicles purported to be less labor-intensive than the gas-powered kind, and the fact that union pay and benefits had still not returned to the pre-Great Recession levels of 15 years ago when the federal government had to bail out the companies, which angered many, but nevertheless worked.

The deal is preliminary and has only been struck between Ford and the UAW, and still requires the approval of 57,000 union members at Ford. But judging from the reactions of many laborers who were interviewed, it seems that all systems are on go. There are plenty of smiles to go around.

“It’s an emotional time for me. I’m emotional,” worker Keith Jurgelewicz said, fighting back tears. He was “. . . super excited that this is over with. I just can’t wait to get back to work and just get on with my life.”

Why wouldn’t he be?

Ford reportedly put 50 percent more money on the table than it did before the strike began on Sept. 15. UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, chief negotiator in the Ford deal, said workers will get a 25 percent general wage increase plus cost of living raises that will put that increase over 30 percent.

When talks started, each of the Big Three offered 9 percent pay increases. Now, assembly workers will get more than that upon ratification, almost equal to all of the wage increases seen since 2007.

While it would be understandable if Ford is not entirely happy with the outcome, Ford chief executive Jim Farley said, “We are focused on restarting the Kentucky Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant, and Chicago Assembly Plant, calling 20,000 Ford employees back to work and shipping our full lineup to our customers again.”

In the past, when one automaker makes a deal, the other two are soon to follow. And it appears General Motors may be getting close as well. The company said in a statement that it is “working constructively” to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Temporary workers and retirees are probably smiling, too. Temp workers will get raises over 150 percent, and retirees will get annual bonuses.

Not every party got everything it wanted. But for now, everyone seems ready to go back to work. And make money.