So-called lean, or flexible, production methods are changing the face of the automobile industry and having a profound effect on workers. The theory behind lean production, as well as its impact on the work force is examined in a new book aptly titled Confronting Change.

Co-edited by Steve Babson, researcher and instructor with the Labor Studies Center at Wayne State University, and Huberto Juarez Nunez, economics professor at the Autonomous University of Puebla (Mexico), the book takes a close look at the forces reshaping the industry. It examines work and working conditions in assembly and supplier plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The 550-page work is a compilation of research papers and reports presented at a 1997 international conference at the University of Puebla on the topic of labor in the North American auto industry. Subtitled "Auto labor and lean production in North America," it has 18 chapters in English and 10 in Spanish. It is published with the title in both languages on the cover.

In his introduction, Babson notes that lean production strategies employed by the automakers have "provoked considerable and sometimes bitter controversy" between employers and workers. The book takes a detailed look at some reasons for the conflict.

One reviewer, who notes that the book is "a must-read for those concerned with where the automobile industry is headed in North America," described it as "a path-breaking analysis of the forces reshaping the global automobile industry in general and the continental industry in particular."

Published by the University of Puebla, the book is available in the United States at $15.95 through Wayne State University Press, 1-800-978-7323.