Following a 20-hour strike in which hundreds of United Auto Workers picketed outside Nexteer Automotive, the union announced it had a new tentative agreement with the company, averting plant shutdowns and avoiding a potential production slowdown or halt for the Detroit automaker, particularly General Motors, which is the auto supplier’s largest customer. UAW members walked off the job early Tuesday at Nexteer, owned by China-based Pacific Century Motors, after they rejected a tentative contract with the auto supplier by 97%. The automotive steering company has more than 3,200 union employees at the facility who are represented by UAW Local 699. With the tentative agreement in place, workers will again exercise their right to accept or reject the contract.