The May Meetup may be a little late for International Worker's Day. But to compensate, this month's Meetup offers two presentations which offer new alternatives to the current dismal state of labor-management relations in America.

Our first presentation concerns the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Labor unions see it as the key piece of legislation that could revitalize the currently anemic labor movement. Many corporations including several that have received federal bailout funds have been waging disinformation campaigns and worse to prevent EFCA from becoming law. So what can EFCA actually do for the labor movement? Helping us to see through the myths will be Amber Parrish from the S.F. Labor Council's Political Department. She'll give us the basics of the EFCA and offer opportunities to exert grassroots pressure to make EFCA a reality. Getting the waffling Senator Dianne Feinstein to become an EFCA co-sponsor would be one such action. Come by and learn how as well as take other actions.

Our next presentation concerns a working alternative to the downsizing/outsourcing mode of thinking that dominates many corporate managers' thinking. Why not have a workplace that exists without the presence of bosses? If you've ever shopped at Rainbow Grocery or watched a movie at the Red Vic Movie House, you've patronized what's known as a worker's co-operative. But worker co-operatives are not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution for every disgruntled worker. Kasper K of NOBAWC will provide a Workers Co-operative 101 presentation, explaining the basics of forming such a co-operative and the challenges of doing so. Whether you're thinking of forming a co-operative yourself or just want some information that the (corporate-controlled) media might not discuss fairly, in these tough economic times it might be time to think outside the typical employer-employee box.

Rounding out our evening will be a brief presentation on open voting systems. What is currently being done legislatively and technically to keep a vote on an electronic voting machine from being altered to ensure a partisan result? Brent Turner of the Open Voting Coalition will bring us up to speed on H.R. 105, new developments in open source voting, and other matters.

So come to this month's Meetup. The only chains you have to lose are forged in lack of knowledge.