Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry

Examines the impacts of electronics manufacturing on workers and local environments around the world

"[A] poignant expose of the environmental, public health and labor rights abuses of an industry that has come to symbolize progress and prosperity in the public eye. This broad anthology identifies the dark underbelly of the electronics revolution and seeks to ignite discussions between labor, environmentalist and human rights activists about how to address industry misconduct...a well-rounded understanding of challenges and struggles in the global electronics industry." Multinational Monitor "This is an excellent book. It is rare to see environment and labor issues brought together in a seamless fashion. This is an important contribution to the discussion of globalization and its effects--and to the understanding of the grassroots movements that have emerged in response."--Charles Levenstein, University of Massachusetts, Lowell "Challenging the Chip is ... an important work in chronicling the evolution of grassroots activism, corporate denial, and eventually, in some cases, corporate responsibility in the electronics industry." S E Journal "The editors have assembled an impressive collection of articles from leading academics and activists...Challenging the Chip judiciously uses photos, tables, charts, and diagrams with detailed explanations. In addition, the book is well documented with useful appendices." Multicultural Review "With twenty-five chapters, much of the value of this volume lies in the encyclopedic overview it provides of conditions in electronics manufacturing around the world...There are fascinating details strewn throughout the book...There is a valuable list of web resources and relevant organizations...The editors provide useful introductions to the volume and each section...but the strength of the book lies in the richness and variety of the empirical material rather than in any overarching explanations or insights. This book is an important intervention in significant public debate." Contemporary Sociology July 2007 "This sweeping, ambitious, highly substantive panorama of environmental outrages perpetrated by the electronics industry and its handmaiden governments and inspectorates is nothing if not concrete, literal, rich, and entirely convincing...Challenging the Chip is a valuable resource document, a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the substance of environmental changemaking in the 21st century." Environmental Politics August 2007 "Challenging the Chip is the story of those who valiantly fight to make the production of microchips a humane process and the products of chips safe for the environment... each of the essays provides valuable insight into one or more aspects of the chip industry... Challenging the Chip will be part of an effort to place the struggles of electronics workers front and center in the fight for social justice... It is certainly a must-read for any labor activist concerned with organizing the cutting edge of worldwide production: global electronics." Labor Studies Journal "Challenging the Chip is certainly the most comprehensive review of the social, health and environmental consequences of the electronics industry to date and provides a critical platform for developing new theoretical and empirical research on the political economy and ecology of the industry. The plethora of topics explored also highlights the multiplicity of disciplines that can contribute to debates about the chip industry, including the social sciences, public health, and environmental sciences. A most impressive feature of the book is the way in which it developed out of a collaborative partnership of intellectuals and activists with a shared vision of sustainability and justice. Overall, the book will be of interest to students of social science, environmental science, science and technology studies, political ecology, and anybody using a computer to read this book review." Electronic Green Journal