The United Auto Workers union and automaker Ford have reached a tentative agreement, according to to CNBC, pending approval of UAW leaders and members,

A source told the publication that union leadership and the company "agreed in principle to the terms of a tentative agreement." While the deal must still be voted on and ratified, it could mark the beginning of the end to the historic strikes, which began six weeks ago.

Over 13,000 union members at assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio went on strike after their contracts expired Sept. 15. The UAW has dubbed the strike the "Stand Up Strike," which targets plants of the area's three largest automakers; Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Stellantis.

The UAW is asking for a wage increase of 36 percent over the next four to five years in compensation for years of stagnant wages and record company profits. The reported deal between Ford and the union offers wage increases of at least 25 percent, alongside improved benefits.

Biden walks picket line with UAW workers

Earlier this month, 8,700 Ford workers walked off the job unannounced at the company's largest and most profitable facility, the Truck Assembly Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where F-250 and F-550 trucks are built, as well as certain SUVs. As of this week, over 40,000 workers have joined the work stoppage.

President Joe Biden has publicly supported the UAW strike, becoming the first sitting president in United States history to join striking workers on a picket line when he marched with UAW members last month at General Motor's Willow Run Redistribution Center.

“Wall Street didn’t build the country. The middle class built the country. Unions built the middle class,” Biden told the Detroit workers. “Let’s keep going. You deserve what you’ve earned, and you deserve a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting paid now.”