Abstract
Competition for rewards often prevents workers from dis- playing unity, yet lack of unity is often seen in the absence of competition and where it is in their interests to unite. The study examines the idea that workers in different technological modes but of the same operative, social and economic status, who share a common interest in unity, are prevented from associating together in a trade union by their own perceptions of each other's occupation -a case of mutual rejection. The investigation used two small samples of contrasting techno- logical modes: people who 'make things' and people who 'serve people'.