And still -- the one thing still lacking is serious workshop organizing -- hitting the fuckers where it will hurt them the most. Everything is happening but that. But talking about unions to many people is often like talking about universal healthcare. Yeah, you can relay the facts all you want, but at the end of the day, I can probably find something on some blog to contradict you, the person thinks, so in the meantime, thanks, but no thanks.
[WS:] Two observations. First, due to the so-called endowment effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect people generally tend to prefer what they already have, even if it is crappy, to alternatives, no matter how good, with which they are not familiar. That means that they will always be paying lip service to the status quo, unless they have a good compelling reason to abandon it. Usually, such reason arises when the status quo can no longer meet popular expectations (as it was the case of Eastern European socialism, for example.) However, as long as popular expectations are met, people will tend to stick to the status quo.
This brings us to the second point - the US system does deliver a lot of popular expectations - either actually or virtually. The system as a whole may not be efficient - there is a lot of waste and unsustainable practices - but individuals do get what they thing is valuable to them. True, there is a great deal of propaganda to shape their expectations - but most people like material stuff - plenty of food, big and fast cars, flashy clothing, big houses, toys, circuses etc. Even the poorest can get most of that stuff in the US one way or another. And as long as they will be getting their Big Macs, SUVs, sneakers, ipods, cell phones, tee-vees, mind altering substances, trendy clothes etc. - they will be happy like pigs in shit with the status quo, and very un-receptive to any alternatives.
In short, do not expect any serious push for a social change until the system is not able to meet people's expectations. I personally do not think this will happen in the US during our life time.
PS. Contrary to the views held by some, the US system is relatively receptive to popular pressures - especially comparing to most other countries. The powers that be know how to manipulate those public pressure to their own advantage, but claiming that they simply ignore this pressure or do something blatantly against it is demonstrably false.
Wojtek