Research recognizes both a tension between standardized work and employee participation as well as the fact that management and labor negotiate both formally and informally over the reorganization of work. Through a comparison of the lean production systems being implemented at three General Motors assembly plants, this article demonstrates the tension between standardization and participation to be socially constructed due, in part, to workplace historical context. Workplace history shapes the attitudes of actors as they negotiate change and can become a significant obstacle to implementing teamwork and employee participation schemes, while perceptions of the future may determine whether or not those obstacles are overcome.