Foremost among all organizational countercultures, of course, are those fostered by trade
unions. It is here that the battle for ideological control is often most clearly defined, for trade
unions are in effect counter-organizations in the sense that their existence stems from the fact
that the interests of employee and employer may not be synonymous. Trade unions have their
own specific cultural histories, which vary from industry to industry and from organization to
organization within an industry. The philosophy, values, and norms of union culture usually
exert an important impact on the mosaic of culture, subculture, and counterculture that
characterizes life in any organization.