Some of the new arrivals have been in the area since early January and are putting down roots.
Others are coming back to Michigan after moving to Spring Hill, Tenn., in the early 1990s, when GM opened what was then a Saturn plant.
Yet others are preparing for the move to Michigan. The last wave of transfers — a few more than the 425 initially expected to make the trek north — report to work Feb. 22. Many are high-seniority workers whose pay averages about $29 an hour.
The same concerns weigh on the minds of the new workers as with other GM assembly line veterans. They worry about families they have to leave behind. And they wonder how they'll fit in at their new workplace, and about the stability of auto industry jobs as the industry tries to bounce back from a dismal 2009.
Despite some jitters, the transfer workers say they're getting more comfortable in their new surroundings.
"People are adapting quite well to the weather and the job," said Brian Fredline, president of United Auto Workers Local 602 here, which represents hourly workers at Lansing Delta Township.
Patrick Chever, 46, has been living in Lansing for about a month, but his life is still divided between Michigan and Tennessee.
He's here because his job at the Spring Hill plant ended when the plant was idled in November. Under GM's contract with the UAW, many plant workers were offered a chance to take jobs at the Lansing plant.
GM needed a third shift after deciding to move Traverse production from Spring Hill to Delta Township. Some transfer workers will help fill that shift.
For Chever the work may be in Delta Township, but his heart and mind are still tied to Tennessee. Chever still owns a house in Nashville, and his three children, ranging in age from 12 to 26, are still there.
"I have a lot of unfinished business," Chever said earlier this month.
(2 of 3)Real Estate Outlook: Positive MovementSouth’s jobless seek work in Tennessee
