CHIPS Act Contract with Micron Doesn’t Specify Job Creation, Wages, or Job Quality

Washington, DC – Members of CHIPS Communities United (CCU), a coalition of unions, environmental, and community groups, responded to the contract between the CHIPS Program Office and Micron Corp. for facilities in New York and Idaho. The coalition raised concerns about the absence of firm, transparent job creation and job quality commitments, supposedly a central goal of the CHIPS and Science Act. 

The public announcement does not include transparent enforceable commitments to ensure that public funds create good jobs. The CHIPS and Science Act was passed to create reliable, family-sustaining manufacturing jobs (among other objectives). But the contract with Micron as publicly reported does not commit the company to job creation, workers’ right to organize, or wage and benefit standards. Specifically:

• Based on the announcement and  community impact report, the contract lacks job commitments from the company including: minimum number of full-time equivalent jobs to be created or retained, minimum hourly wages to be paid, minimum hourly benefit levels to be given, annual cost of training provided for each job classification, and which classifications will be temporary workers, contractors, or direct employees of Micron. 
• The announcement does not include a commitment from Micron to allow its workers to join a union free from intimidation, captive audience meetings, exposure to anti-union consultants, threats of retaliation, and other obstacles to achieve bargaining. 
• The announcement says Micron will adhere to the administration’s Good Jobs Principles, but does not specify what that will involve nor require the company to report publicly on its compliance.
• The Syracuse community has developed a set of principles for good jobs and equitable access, but the description of the new jobs in the contract announcement does not live up to this community vision.

CCU appreciated Micron’s goal of using 100% clean energy and the company’s prior commitment to use project labor agreements (and thus employ union construction workers) for both sites. But the coalition expressed concerns about Micron’s environmental commitments. The Commerce Department listed four commitments that only apply to Micron’s Boise facility, clarifying that Micron would commit to adopt all mitigation measures identified in the ongoing NEPA review process for its New York fabs.

• According to the public language, management of toxic chemicals at Micron Boise, a concern both to workers and to the surrounding community, will be regulated by guidelines developed by industry – SEMI’s S2 “or a similar internationally recognized safety standard.” (We expect a similar requirement will be part of the Environmental Impact Statement or EIS, which will govern Micron in New York.) Unlike government regulations, this standard is not easily available for public inspection since it is proprietary, copyrighted, and can only be inspected by purchasing it. Allowing a regulated entity to write the regulations that will be applied to it violates basic principles of good government. Ultimately, S2 is no substitute for protective workplace health and safety regulation, which has historically been missing in semiconductor production. 
• While we appreciate the goal of using 100% renewable energy, the announcement does not commit Micron to build any new renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Rather, it commits to using 100% carbon-free electricity via power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificates (RECs). CCU hopes Micron will build or demand new renewable sources to meet this objective, rather than purchasing RECs.
• The company’s commitment to manage PFAS chemicals is worrying. We know from the draft Environmental Assessment that the company will continue to release treated wastewater into the Boise River, and the announcement provides no assurance that PFAS will be removed from that waste stream. 
• The contract announcement says the company will treat wastewater for PFAS at “licensed and permitted treatment and disposal facilities,” and we know from the draft Environmental Assessment that many of these facilities are located in environmental justice communities, such as Port Arthur, Texas. This raises concerns about how wastewater will be treated and how local communities will be protected.
• The contract does not require Micron to use low-carbon domestic-building materials. Building semiconductor fabs requires massive amounts of steel and concrete which typically have large carbon footprints.

Finally, the public announcement fails to specify the penalties or clawbacks the Commerce Dept. would impose if Micron failed to meet workforce, health and safety, or environmental milestones and metrics. The public announcement also doesn’t clarify the conditions under which Micron would incur penalties for non-compliance with workforce or environmental commitments or if the company violates federal law.

The coalition urged the Commerce Dept. to address these concerns in future contracts, including the contracts with Samsung, Texas Instruments, and SK Hynix.

Quotes

“While Micron has been awarded over $6.1 billion in federal funds, this historic investment is only as good as the jobs it creates. Rather than engage in meaningful dialogue in good faith with the goal of bringing thousands of permanent good-paying community sustaining jobs to New York, Micron continues to drag its feet, failing to make any enforceable commitments to its future workforce,” said Carl Kennebrew, president of IUE-CWA, the industrial division of the Communications Workers of America. “Workers considering careers at Micron should have the guarantee of family-sustaining wages and comprehensive benefits, safe working conditions, and a fair and clear process to organize a union without opposition. Micron not only has an opportunity to be a model employer in the semiconductor industry that will attract and retain the workforce needed to keep the company competitive, but an obligation. Micron owes it to New York, and its future workforce, to step up to the plate and make a commitment that it will prioritize the creation of good jobs.” 

Jobs to Move America, a CCU partner with extensive experience negotiating successful CBAs, and is working alongside Central New York partners to organize for a community benefits agreement (CBA). “The people of CNY deserve to know how public funds are being spent, and workers deserve to know what commitments Micron has made about their jobs.” said JMA’s Syracuse organizing manager Khadeejah Ahmad. “That transparency will allow us to hold Micron accountable to worker health and safety, wage and benefit standards, workforce development, and community investments commitments. Micron has the choice to take the high road and make enforceable commitments to deliver community benefits. Now that the federal government has signed off, leaders in the State of New York can and should help lead Micron down that road.” 

“This award is another huge boost for American manufacturing and our clean energy supply chain,” said Ben Jealous, president of the Sierra Club. “Micron’s contractual commitment to a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity is a testament to the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive clean manufacturing policies, and Sierra Club calls on Micron to adopt the Central New York Good Jobs & Equitable Access Platform and ensure that both clean electricity and a clean working environment are part of their chips production. Creating good American manufacturing jobs is pivotal to America’s growing economy, and we look forward to Micron’s commitments to low-carbon building materials becoming clearer as environmental review advances in New York State.”

“Central New Yorkers are well aware how industry has abused the environment in the past,” said Don Hughes, conservation chair at the Central New York Sierra Club group. “The desecration of Onondaga Lake with  mercury, PCBs, and Solvay waste is testimony to that past. We expect environmental commitments for Micron’s facility in Clay that are above and beyond those made for its facility in Boise Idaho. Micron needs to cut its use of PFAS to an absolute minimum. We look forward to an EIS that provides robust opportunities for the community to participate and that addresses community concerns about PFAS, wastewater, workplace toxins, and other environmental hazards. Finally, we need a real commitment from Micron to finance the construction of new renewable electricity projects.”

“After decades of disinvestment and false promises, Micron’s project was touted as an economic boon for Central New York, urging us to welcome it with open arms. However, today’s announcement of Micron securing billions in federal funds without any concrete, enforceable commitments related to equitable job access and quality jobs is far from reassuring,” said Tylah Worrell, executive director of Urban Jobs Task Force. “Nearly fifty community, civic, and faith organizations in our region have offered a vision to Micron and our political leaders: Firstly, implement concrete measures to ensure that those who need these jobs most — Black, Indigenous, people of color, women workers, and others facing barriers to family-supporting jobs — can access them, particularly current local residents. Secondly, ensure these jobs support families, respect worker rights, and protect health. The responsibility now falls to our state leaders who have also promised Micron billions in public funds. They should collaborate with us to make Micron’s big promises a reality through enforceable commitments, setting reasonable workforce equity goals for our residents.”

CCU is a coalition of unions, environmental organizations, and community-based groups. This press release was approved by CCU members IUE-CWA, Good Jobs First, International Campaign for Responsible Technology, International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Jobs to Move America, Jobs with Justice, Sierra Club, and the United Auto Workers.