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Labor Activists Protest At Mexican Consulate In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Immigrants rights activists joined a growing call for Mexico's government to end repression of its labor unions.

Twenty-two pages of signed petitions were delivered to the Mexican Consulate Friday as dozens rallied outside after a march down Folsom Street.

"The Mexican government must respect the right of independent unions in Mexico currently organizing, including the electrical workers who have been repressed," said Renee Saucedo of La Raza Centro Legal.

KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:

The Mexican Electrical Workers Union has launched several protests in Mexico City since President Felipe Calderon ordered the state-run utility that serves electricity to several other Mexican states dissolved in 2009.

Saucedo and colleagues with the San Francisco Labor Council said a solidarity rally was being planned for February 18 here and in other U.S. cities.

The demonstrators also called on Mexican authorities to do more to protect migrants from South and Central America who often pass through Mexico trying to enter the United States.

"There are no borders as far as human rights are concerned," Saucedo said.

"We will not tolerate human rights violations on any side of the border."

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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