ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how the activists see the differentiation which is occurring at work. This issue directly affects the problems of solidarity and the motives for political participation. In both Italy and Poland trade union commitment resists much better than political party commitment, which instead has certainly dropped dramatically. The classic theories of political participation should be revisited in the case of today's unionism. Moreover, there are differences in the 'intensity' of union activism. The best ground on which to evaluate these differences is not the subjective discourse given in the interviews, but the experience of access to the fieldwork. The conception of trade union commitment described by Gallino and Milanaccio and by the Polish activists suggests that the interference of experiences may be a resource for union commitment and solidarity in a new, 'subjective' way. The Polish union movement of Solidarity was, like the Italian one, very egalitarian, as illustrated by Laba's analysis.
