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Domestic Workers Rally In San Francisco Following Movie Release

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – In connection with the release of the movie, The Help, domestic workers rallied in San Francisco Wednesday to show support for a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights.

Dozens of workers gathered on Market Street outside the Westfield Shopping Center's Century Theater, to draw attention to Assembly Bill 889, sponsored by Democrat Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.

The measure would regulate the wages, hours and working conditions of domestic workers.

KCBS' Margie Shafer:

The workers claim that abuse described in The Help is abuse that continues in modern day California.

The film captures what life was like for black maids working for white employers in 1960's Mississippi.

Ammiano said in some ways there are similarities.

"They really don't have the opportunities that other people have, and in that way, yeah, I think there is a basic fairness to drawing that parallel," he said.

Ammiano's bill is now before the State Senate Appropriations Committee.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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