CWA Joins Call for High Labor Standards in Semiconductor Industry

Yesterday, CWA, as part of a new coalition of public interest organizations known as CHIPS Communities United (CCU), released a public letter calling on semiconductor companies to ensure that the promised economic and social benefits of federal CHIPS Act funding are realized for the workers and communities where semiconductor manufacturing facilities are situated.

"Rebuilding the U.S. semiconductor industry presents an opportunity to create good jobs in communities across this country," said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. "But without a conscious effort, we run the risk of replicating the discriminatory structures that have led to the underrepresentation of women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities in manufacturing jobs. Industry CEOs must guarantee, in writing, the protection of their workers and our communities before finalizing these deals."

While the CHIPS Act aims to rebuild the U.S. semiconductor industry, it currently lacks explicit provisions to ensure that the benefits of this substantial taxpayer investment reach U.S. workers and communities. The coalition is calling upon semiconductor companies benefiting from CHIPS Act subsidies to commit to comprehensive community benefit agreements to establish these protections.

“We’ve been fighting for a voice on the job at my plant and met with nothing but unethical union-busting,” said Jim Woods, a worker at semiconductor supply chain company Momentive Technologies in Strongsville, Ohio, where workers have been organizing with IUE-CWA. “Our taxpayer dollars shouldn’t go to companies that break the law and don’t respect workers’ right to organize. U.S. workers are ready to build the technology of the future; we just want to be protected while doing it.”