Samsung Accountability Campaign Update:
Samsung’s profits soar as more workers die from occupational cancer
At its annual shareholders’ meeting on March 19, 2010 in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung Electronics -- which now ranks # 1 in flat screen TV sales and #2 in mobile phone sales -- CEO Choi Gee-sung told shareholders: “We have become a world class company?" He failed to mention that the week before there had been a protest rally and press conference at the Samsung headquarters calling on Samsung to accept responsibility for the many workers who have developed cancer while working for the company. Tragically, another young worker -- Park Ji-yeon -- from Samsung’s Onyang semiconductor factory just died of leukemia at the age of 23 on March 31, 2010.
This gruesome pattern makes me believe that Samsung is building their empire on the bodies of their workers. How may lives could have been saved if Samsung had spent a tiny fraction of their profits to provide a safer workplace? How many lives can be saved in the future if Samsung (and other chemical handing companies) spend a few more dollars to prevent toxic exposures to its workers? What can we do to make Samsung more accountable to its workers as it enjoys its new status as a “world class company”? One thing you can start with is to sign the Samsung Accountability Petition here (people from 44 countries have already done so).
I was one of the speakers at the Samsung memorial and rally on March 5, representing the International Campaign for Responsible Technology, an NGO which advocates for sustainable practices in the global electronics industry. Samsung workers, their families, and community supporters participated in the 1st Memorial Week of occupational deaths of semiconductor workers to honor the memory of those who gave their lives working at Samsung. As the evening progressed, a brigade of riot police spread out in front of Samsung, and just as I was starting to speak, a police commander across the street from us pulled out his bull horn and demanded that the assembled crowd disperse immediately. When many in the crowd yelled back that they would not be intimidated by the police, I proceeded to give my speech, bringing solidarity messages from around the world and explaining how the Samsung cancer cluster is similar to the IBM cases in the US, the National Semiconductor cases in the UK, and the RCA cases in Taiwan. I also pointed out that the pattern of cancer deaths at IBM in the US as documented by Dr. Richard Clapp was similar to the pattern at Samsung. I asked how many deaths of young workers could have been prevented if Samsung had monitored the health of its workers as vigorously as it monitors its competitors and their markets.
Samsung CEO Choi stated at the recent shareholders meeting: "We have a real upper hand when it comes to competitiveness," he said, though warned that Samsung's rivals were "also seeking a leap forward," which he added means "fiercer competition." What will it take to encourage competition for the safest and most humane work place? CEO Choi did not address this question.
Other speakers – including Mr. Hwang, father of Yu-mi Hwang a young Samsung worker who died from cancer, labor and community activists, and other visiting guests from Asia Monitor Resource Centre in Hong Kong and the RCA victims group from Taiwan – called on Samsung to acknowledge their responsibility for the many cancers that have struck young workers (many under 30) who have been exposed to chemicals in the so-called “clean rooms”. Many health studies conducted over the past 20 – 30 years have shown an increased risk of leukemia from exposure to the kinds of solvents commonly found in electronics manufacturing. Several speakers also talked about the anti-union policies of the company they have come to refer to “The Republic of Samsung”.
The week that I spent in Korea was life-changing. Starting with the initial press conference where we launched the new Samsung Accountability Campaign in front of the company headquarters, we urged people to join a global movement by signing our web based petition and there was a feeling of growing energy and momentum enabled by all the hard work of the many activists from Supporters of Health And Right of People in Semiconductor Industry (SHARPS) and Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health (KILSH).
We next went to the Hyo-won Charnel House where the ashes of the Samsung workers are maintained and we held a somber ceremony to honor the young workers who have died. Ae-jeung Jeong said a prayer and laid a wreath for her deceased husband Min-woong Hwang, a Samsung engineer who died from leukemia at age 32 after working in Samsung’s Gi-heung factory. We also paid tribute to Sook-young Lee, who died of leukemia at age 30 after working at as Yu-mi Hwang partner in the Gi-heung factory. The fact that these 2 young women worked next to each other and both died of leukemia is what prompted the formation of SHARPS.
As we paid our respects, an old memory seeped into my consciousness – something about how “Asians don’t value life” the way that westerners do. As I experienced the pain and deep mourning of the families for their lost relatives, I was overwhelmed by how outrageous and demonstrably false that slur was. (When I returned home, I dug up the exact quote from General William Westmorland – the top US general during the Vietnam war, who proclaimed that "The Oriental doesn't put the same high price on life as does a Westerner...We value life and human dignity. They don't care about life and human dignity.") Once more the horror and shame of Vietnam washed over me. And it made me wonder if the executives at Samsung and other high-tech companies feel the same way about their workers – that they are somehow expendable since their lives are not a valuable as those of the managers. As we commemorate the thirty-seventh anniversary of America's withdrawal from Vietnam on March 29th, it is important that we unearth the many lies from our past and approach the future with clarity and courage.
Other activities organized by SHARPS while I was in Korea included:
• leafleting outside several Samsung plants in Giheung (Samsung city). While we were constantly harassed by Samsung security, most of the workers were eager to observe our banners and photos and to take and read the information we passed out;
• holding a candle light vigil outside a major Suwon shopping center by the train station. SHARPS set up banners and posters, gathered signatures on the Samsung petition, and showed the Samsung video;
• sponsoring an international symposium on “The Condition and Struggle of Electronic Workers in Asia at the Human Rights Centre in Korea”. Speakers included – Si-Ouk Lee, Vice chair of the 150,000 member Korean Metal Workers Union, who called for a ban on carcinogens in the workplace. Other speakers were from the Korea Institute of Labour Safety and Health, AMRC, TAVOI, Labour Watch, and representatives from other unions in Korea. Apo Leong from AMRC pointed out that Samsung’s membership in the EICC (Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition) underscores the bankruptcy of that organization and called on the EICC to expel Samsung. This suggestion was met with uniform positive response by the participants.
The Samsung workers' story is integral to what is, for us, an all-too-familiar, decades-long saga that includes similar actions and reactions around the world:
• demands from workers and communities for the "right-to-know" about toxic chemical use, exposures and health information vs. corporate claims of "trade secrets" and “proprietary information” when people’s health is at stake,
• claims by corporations that workers have “no proof” that toxic chemicals are harmful while at the same time these same companies refuse to do ongoing health monitoring or to participate in health studies;
• intense anti-union bias from electronics employers vs. workers demands for decent working conditions, respect and corporate accountability for harm,
• corporate 'green-washing' as companies use public relations to build and protect valuable market share in the huge consumer electronics market, regardless of environmental and health impacts of production on workers and communities.
• government indifference or hostilities to those who bring these issues into the public arena because of their blind commitment to “economic development at any cost” and who are afraid that public visibility of the “collateral damage” caused by high-tech development will undermine their “economic miracle”.
SHARPS has undertaken the challenge of piecing together and showing how, once again, the image of a "clean industry” is at odds with the grim reality of chemically-intensive production and the “just-in-time” production demands that take such a huge toll on their workers lives. And their story is compelling – they are truly writing the next chapter of “Challenging the Chip” through their work. With the support of strong unions and well organized community and environmental organizations, Korea may well become the model for safer jobs and healthy families within the global electronics industry.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Presentation by Ted Smith
Coordinator, International Campaign for Responsible Technology
SHARPS Press Conference - Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thank you for inviting me to speak today at this important event. I bring greetings from my many colleagues around the world who express their solidarity with SHARPS. I especially want to express my condolence to Mr.Hwang, the father of Yu-mi, who has suffered such a huge loss and who has shown such courage and strength in his support for the many others who continue to struggle for workplace justice!
Let me share with you some history that I believe is relevant to the situation here in Korea.
I come from San Jose, California, known throughout the world as Silicon Valley. Up until 40 years ago, our community was known as the “Valley of heart’s delight” because it was such a beautiful agricultural paradise. But in the 1960’s a new industry started to grow in our community – it was called the electronics industry, but the people who promoted it called it the “clean industry” since it did not have smoke stacks. What they didn’t tell us was that the manufacturing used many very toxic chemicals.
In the 1970’s, the first warning signs began to emerge as workers in the semiconductor industry became sick from working with toxic chemicals on the job. The Santa Clara Center for Occupational Safety and Health was formed in the 1970’s to document this pattern of occupational illness and to provide support for the workers and the families who suffered.
Then in 1982, the State of California discovered that the chemicals used to make the chips had leaked into our groundwater aquifers and had polluted our drinking water source. Overnight, our community learned that the so-called “clean industry” was a dangerous toxic chemical handling industry that needed strict regulation to protect the workers and community. We formed the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and I was the Executive Director for 25 years. We focused our attention on promoting sustainable production and sustainable electronic products.
As the electronics industry expanded into other parts of the world, we reached out to others around the world who were discovering very similar impacts from the growth of this industry. We formed the International Campaign for Responsible Technology in 2002 at a global symposium in Silicon Valley and participants from more than a dozen countries adopted the following Mission Statement: "We are an international solidarity network that promotes corporate and government accountability in the global electronics industry. We are united by our concern for the lifecycle impacts of this industry on health, the environment and workers' rights."
Here’s what we’ve learned:
• Of the 70,000 chemicals in commerce, only a few are well tested for health effects
• 1000’s of chemicals are used in electronics, including carcinogens, reproductive toxins, genotoxins and developmental toxins
• People continue to be exposed to these chemicals on the job and in the communities, and they have developed cancer, given birth to children with serious birth defects, and suffer from other serious chronic and acute illnesses.
• Cancer clusters in electronics production workers continue to emerge around the world:
• IBM (US),
• National Semiconductor (UK);
• RCA (Taiwan);
• Samsung (Korea)
The Samsung workers' story is an important chapter of a decades-long saga that includes similar actions and reactions around the world:
• demands from workers and communities for the "right-to-know" about toxic chemical use, exposures and health information vs. corporate claims of "trade secrets" and “proprietary information” when people’s health is at stake;
• intense anti-union bias from electronics employers vs. workers demands for decent working conditions, respect and corporate accountability for harm;
• corporate 'green-washing' as companies use public relations to build and protect valuable market share in the huge consumer electronics market, regardless of environmental and health impacts of production on workers and communities;
• Government indifference or hostilities to those who bring these issues into the public arena because of their blind commitment to “economic development at any cost” and who are afraid that public visibility of the “collateral damage” caused by high-tech development will undermine their “economic miracle”.
SHARPS has undertaken the challenge of piecing together and showing how once again the image of a "clean industry” is at odds with the grim reality of chemically-intensive production and the “just-in-time” production demands that take such a huge toll on their workers lives. And their story is compelling – they are truly writing the next chapter of “Challenging the chip” through their work. The video “Workers in Samsung” presents their story in a dramatic and compelling way and is a call to global action for everyone who cares about health and justice in the workplace.
I was privileged to attend a meeting of SHARPS at the KMWU union office in August 2009 and meet some of the workers and their families and was very moved by their stories and the video presentation from SHARPS. I was impressed to learn of other struggles by electronics workers at other factories in Korea who are raising and sometimes winning workplace victories and are organizing workers to join together and speak for themselves to improve their working conditions.
I am proud to join with SHARPS and say: “Enough is enough! We will no longer tolerate this environmental injustice!” That’s why we are announcing a new global petition drive to demand accountability from Samsung. I will work with SHARPS and all of my colleagues around the world to encourage people to send a strong message to Samsung that they cannot continue with business as usual and that if they really want to be a global leader, then they must accept responsibility for their actions and errors.
==========================================
The petition reads:
The families and friends of electronics manufacturing workers at Samsung in Korea have discovered a cancer cluster among young workers exposed to toxic chemicals. The pattern of cancer deaths bears a striking resemblance to the pattern of cancer deaths among IBM “chip” workers in the US* and to other electronics cancer clusters around the world. March 6th marks the third anniversary of the death of Yu-mi Hwang, a Samsung semiconductor factory worker, who died from leukemia at age 22. Her death – and similar coworker deaths - has motivated people to demand that Samsung:
1) Accept responsibility for the hazards of semiconductor manufacturing,
2) compensate those harmed; and
3) prevent future suffering and mistreatment of workers by making Samsung a toxics-free model workplace where workers are treated with dignity and respect.
Samsung denies all responsibility, and the Korean government has taken its side by denying compensation and even arresting and detaining the victims’ lawyer! Yu-mi’s family, co-workers, friends and other concerned people have formed SHARPs (Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry) to demand justice.
SHARPS is now asking concerned people around the world to join their campaign for international solidarity to raise awareness about occupational disease in the electronics industry and bring accountability to Samsung (and the rest of the electronics industry). In particular SHARPS is asking people to tell Samsung that people around the world endorse these just demands:
• accept responsibility and pay compensation when electronics workers die of cancer after exposure to toxic chemicals on the job
• disclose to the workers and the public the truth about the hazards of working in the semiconductor industry
• give voice to the victims and their families who have suffered and bring accountability to Samsung
• support electronics workers in their struggles for a safe and fair workplace.
Please add your voice by signing this petition to support SHARPs in their campaign for international solidarity.
- see http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/30 -- “Mortality among US employees of a large computer manufacturing company: 1969–2001”
Coordinator, International Campaign for Responsible Technology
SHARPS Press Conference - Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thank you for inviting me to speak today at this important event. I bring greetings from my many colleagues around the world who express their solidarity with SHARPS. I especially want to express my condolence to Mr.Hwang, the father of Yu-mi, who has suffered such a huge loss and who has shown such courage and strength in his support for the many others who continue to struggle for workplace justice!
Let me share with you some history that I believe is relevant to the situation here in Korea.
I come from San Jose, California, known throughout the world as Silicon Valley. Up until 40 years ago, our community was known as the “Valley of heart’s delight” because it was such a beautiful agricultural paradise. But in the 1960’s a new industry started to grow in our community – it was called the electronics industry, but the people who promoted it called it the “clean industry” since it did not have smoke stacks. What they didn’t tell us was that the manufacturing used many very toxic chemicals.
In the 1970’s, the first warning signs began to emerge as workers in the semiconductor industry became sick from working with toxic chemicals on the job. The Santa Clara Center for Occupational Safety and Health was formed in the 1970’s to document this pattern of occupational illness and to provide support for the workers and the families who suffered.
Then in 1982, the State of California discovered that the chemicals used to make the chips had leaked into our groundwater aquifers and had polluted our drinking water source. Overnight, our community learned that the so-called “clean industry” was a dangerous toxic chemical handling industry that needed strict regulation to protect the workers and community. We formed the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and I was the Executive Director for 25 years. We focused our attention on promoting sustainable production and sustainable electronic products.
As the electronics industry expanded into other parts of the world, we reached out to others around the world who were discovering very similar impacts from the growth of this industry. We formed the International Campaign for Responsible Technology in 2002 at a global symposium in Silicon Valley and participants from more than a dozen countries adopted the following Mission Statement: "We are an international solidarity network that promotes corporate and government accountability in the global electronics industry. We are united by our concern for the lifecycle impacts of this industry on health, the environment and workers' rights."
Here’s what we’ve learned:
• Of the 70,000 chemicals in commerce, only a few are well tested for health effects
• 1000’s of chemicals are used in electronics, including carcinogens, reproductive toxins, genotoxins and developmental toxins
• People continue to be exposed to these chemicals on the job and in the communities, and they have developed cancer, given birth to children with serious birth defects, and suffer from other serious chronic and acute illnesses.
• Cancer clusters in electronics production workers continue to emerge around the world:
• IBM (US),
• National Semiconductor (UK);
• RCA (Taiwan);
• Samsung (Korea)
The Samsung workers' story is an important chapter of a decades-long saga that includes similar actions and reactions around the world:
• demands from workers and communities for the "right-to-know" about toxic chemical use, exposures and health information vs. corporate claims of "trade secrets" and “proprietary information” when people’s health is at stake;
• intense anti-union bias from electronics employers vs. workers demands for decent working conditions, respect and corporate accountability for harm;
• corporate 'green-washing' as companies use public relations to build and protect valuable market share in the huge consumer electronics market, regardless of environmental and health impacts of production on workers and communities;
• Government indifference or hostilities to those who bring these issues into the public arena because of their blind commitment to “economic development at any cost” and who are afraid that public visibility of the “collateral damage” caused by high-tech development will undermine their “economic miracle”.
SHARPS has undertaken the challenge of piecing together and showing how once again the image of a "clean industry” is at odds with the grim reality of chemically-intensive production and the “just-in-time” production demands that take such a huge toll on their workers lives. And their story is compelling – they are truly writing the next chapter of “Challenging the chip” through their work. The video “Workers in Samsung” presents their story in a dramatic and compelling way and is a call to global action for everyone who cares about health and justice in the workplace.
I was privileged to attend a meeting of SHARPS at the KMWU union office in August 2009 and meet some of the workers and their families and was very moved by their stories and the video presentation from SHARPS. I was impressed to learn of other struggles by electronics workers at other factories in Korea who are raising and sometimes winning workplace victories and are organizing workers to join together and speak for themselves to improve their working conditions.
I am proud to join with SHARPS and say: “Enough is enough! We will no longer tolerate this environmental injustice!” That’s why we are announcing a new global petition drive to demand accountability from Samsung. I will work with SHARPS and all of my colleagues around the world to encourage people to send a strong message to Samsung that they cannot continue with business as usual and that if they really want to be a global leader, then they must accept responsibility for their actions and errors.
==========================================
The petition reads:
The families and friends of electronics manufacturing workers at Samsung in Korea have discovered a cancer cluster among young workers exposed to toxic chemicals. The pattern of cancer deaths bears a striking resemblance to the pattern of cancer deaths among IBM “chip” workers in the US* and to other electronics cancer clusters around the world. March 6th marks the third anniversary of the death of Yu-mi Hwang, a Samsung semiconductor factory worker, who died from leukemia at age 22. Her death – and similar coworker deaths - has motivated people to demand that Samsung:
1) Accept responsibility for the hazards of semiconductor manufacturing,
2) compensate those harmed; and
3) prevent future suffering and mistreatment of workers by making Samsung a toxics-free model workplace where workers are treated with dignity and respect.
Samsung denies all responsibility, and the Korean government has taken its side by denying compensation and even arresting and detaining the victims’ lawyer! Yu-mi’s family, co-workers, friends and other concerned people have formed SHARPs (Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry) to demand justice.
SHARPS is now asking concerned people around the world to join their campaign for international solidarity to raise awareness about occupational disease in the electronics industry and bring accountability to Samsung (and the rest of the electronics industry). In particular SHARPS is asking people to tell Samsung that people around the world endorse these just demands:
• accept responsibility and pay compensation when electronics workers die of cancer after exposure to toxic chemicals on the job
• disclose to the workers and the public the truth about the hazards of working in the semiconductor industry
• give voice to the victims and their families who have suffered and bring accountability to Samsung
• support electronics workers in their struggles for a safe and fair workplace.
Please add your voice by signing this petition to support SHARPs in their campaign for international solidarity.
- see http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/30 -- “Mortality among US employees of a large computer manufacturing company: 1969–2001”
Saturday, March 20, 2010
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/374088.html
Semiconductor manufacturing deaths – will they be swept under the rug?
Occupational Safety and labor activists Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes
The Hankyoreh Newspaper - http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/374088.html
Yijonggeun News
American labor activists Amanda Hawes (left) and Ted Smith' talked about the problem of leukemia in Samsung semiconductor workers during an interview at the Seoul Garden Hotel on August 28, 2009. News yijonggeun root2@hani.co.kr
"Semiconductor factory workers are exposed to too many chemicals!”
Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes, industrial safety activists from the U.S., met with “The Hankyoreh" Newspaper to express their strong concerns about occurrence of cancer among the Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers. "This looks very similar to what happened at IBM in the U.S. It’s a real problem that Samsung does not conduct and disclose the results of any health investigation and yet still claims that nothing is wrong,” said Hawes. “But if the company did not even conduct an investigation, it is an even bigger problem," she said. They were in Korea to attend a meeting of The International Metal Workers (IMF) union to discuss health and safety problems in the electronics industry in Korea and around the world.
'Semiconductor manufacturing is hazardous’ says attorney Hawes, who waged a legal battle against IBM because workers there developed cancer after being exposed to toxic chemicals. "Samsung factory leukemia cases require that there be a follow-up health investigation. “
Hawes and Smith have been battling IBM and other U.S. high-tech giants in Silicon Valley, the birthplace of the semiconductor industry (semiconductor chips are the 'rice’ of the electronics industry.) Smith explained the hazards of the organic solvents used by the industry and said that data published in the United States has been well documented, as he pulled out a thick book [“Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry.”]. "Even though the toxic chemical substances were found to be below the legally allowable limits, the women working in the Clean Rooms still suffered higher rates of miscarriages,” explained Hawes.
The reason why she can confidently assert this is because of the materials that she was able to obtain through legal battles. Attorney Hawes obtained information from IBM which contains 30 years of health tracking data from semiconductor plant workers. When she got the data from IBM, she did an analysis and found that "The occurrence rate of blood cancers and brain tumors in those regularly exposed to toxic chemicals in IBM factories showed much higher rates than other workers," she said. Smith added that there is continuing evidence about the dangers of semiconductor processes, and mentioned the high cancer rates in the semiconductor plants in Scotland.
They recently met with South Korea's Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers and learned about those who had died of leukemia and other cancers. It’s probably the same in Korea as it is in the U.S. where the employer tells the workers that there is no problem, they said. "The important thing is not just to compensate the families for their loved ones who have died – it’s important to make sure that these things never happen again” said Hawes. “Samsung must inform the workers what chemicals they are being exposed to and do a better job in protecting their health, investigating the health hazards, and preventing future harm.
In the 1970’s, California attorney Hawes was engaged in representing fruit processing women workers in the canneries. Many of these women started working at semiconductor plants as the industrial structure began to change, and Hawes discovered that many of them suffered from health problems, including miscarriages. Observing these developments opened her eyes and led to her awareness of the industrial health problems in the electronics industry. As Smith noted, "The electronics industry must pay more attention to these problems and value the next generation children as much as the next generation of chips.
wani@hani.co.kr
Semiconductor manufacturing deaths – will they be swept under the rug?
Occupational Safety and labor activists Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes
The Hankyoreh Newspaper - http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/374088.html
Yijonggeun News
American labor activists Amanda Hawes (left) and Ted Smith' talked about the problem of leukemia in Samsung semiconductor workers during an interview at the Seoul Garden Hotel on August 28, 2009. News yijonggeun root2@hani.co.kr
"Semiconductor factory workers are exposed to too many chemicals!”
Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes, industrial safety activists from the U.S., met with “The Hankyoreh" Newspaper to express their strong concerns about occurrence of cancer among the Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers. "This looks very similar to what happened at IBM in the U.S. It’s a real problem that Samsung does not conduct and disclose the results of any health investigation and yet still claims that nothing is wrong,” said Hawes. “But if the company did not even conduct an investigation, it is an even bigger problem," she said. They were in Korea to attend a meeting of The International Metal Workers (IMF) union to discuss health and safety problems in the electronics industry in Korea and around the world.
'Semiconductor manufacturing is hazardous’ says attorney Hawes, who waged a legal battle against IBM because workers there developed cancer after being exposed to toxic chemicals. "Samsung factory leukemia cases require that there be a follow-up health investigation. “
Hawes and Smith have been battling IBM and other U.S. high-tech giants in Silicon Valley, the birthplace of the semiconductor industry (semiconductor chips are the 'rice’ of the electronics industry.) Smith explained the hazards of the organic solvents used by the industry and said that data published in the United States has been well documented, as he pulled out a thick book [“Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry.”]. "Even though the toxic chemical substances were found to be below the legally allowable limits, the women working in the Clean Rooms still suffered higher rates of miscarriages,” explained Hawes.
The reason why she can confidently assert this is because of the materials that she was able to obtain through legal battles. Attorney Hawes obtained information from IBM which contains 30 years of health tracking data from semiconductor plant workers. When she got the data from IBM, she did an analysis and found that "The occurrence rate of blood cancers and brain tumors in those regularly exposed to toxic chemicals in IBM factories showed much higher rates than other workers," she said. Smith added that there is continuing evidence about the dangers of semiconductor processes, and mentioned the high cancer rates in the semiconductor plants in Scotland.
They recently met with South Korea's Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers and learned about those who had died of leukemia and other cancers. It’s probably the same in Korea as it is in the U.S. where the employer tells the workers that there is no problem, they said. "The important thing is not just to compensate the families for their loved ones who have died – it’s important to make sure that these things never happen again” said Hawes. “Samsung must inform the workers what chemicals they are being exposed to and do a better job in protecting their health, investigating the health hazards, and preventing future harm.
In the 1970’s, California attorney Hawes was engaged in representing fruit processing women workers in the canneries. Many of these women started working at semiconductor plants as the industrial structure began to change, and Hawes discovered that many of them suffered from health problems, including miscarriages. Observing these developments opened her eyes and led to her awareness of the industrial health problems in the electronics industry. As Smith noted, "The electronics industry must pay more attention to these problems and value the next generation children as much as the next generation of chips.
wani@hani.co.kr
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Samsung calls out riot police on peaceful candlelight vigil
Last week we launched the Samsung Accountability Campaign in Seoul, South Korea with a series of activities that called on Samsung to accept responsibility for the workplace cancers that have struck down more than 20 young workers.
People from more than 35 countries have now signed the petition. Please join them and circulate to all of your contacts and lists! Thanks.
http://www.petitiononline.com/s4m5ung/petition.html
You can see my photos from the week’s activities at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1309114274&aid=2057934.
Samsung responded by calling out the riot police ( see the photos above)
See also http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11961 for a good description:
Are Samsung workers dying from cancer in Korea?
by Stephen Frost sfrost@csr-asia.com
When Yumi Hwang died from leukaemia at the age of 22 it was assumed she was an unfortunate victim of naturally occurring abnormalities that often account for the disease. Her father, however, was not convinced. Sanggi Hwang’s search for the truth about his daughter’s death has convinced him that it was her job at a Samsung semiconductor factory that led to her untimely death on 6 March 2007. His fight for justice has subsequently enlisted the support of a new-formed coalition of NGOs calling on Samsung to accept responsibly for what Ted Smith (from the International Campaign for Responsible Technology in San Jose, California) calls “a serious blood cancer cluster” similar to that alleged in a court case brought against IBM in late 2003. (click on the link above for more details)
· A video of some of the Samsung victims and their families is available at: http://dotsub.com/view/6147f3b8-99fc-48c2-acbe-d95be38eddd1
· see http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/30 -- “Mortality among US employees of a large computer manufacturing company: 1969–2001” – this study shows similar patterns of mortality to Samsung
People from more than 35 countries have now signed the petition. Please join them and circulate to all of your contacts and lists! Thanks.
http://www.petitiononline.com/s4m5ung/petition.html
You can see my photos from the week’s activities at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1309114274&aid=2057934.
Samsung responded by calling out the riot police ( see the photos above)
See also http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11961 for a good description:
Are Samsung workers dying from cancer in Korea?
by Stephen Frost sfrost@csr-asia.com
When Yumi Hwang died from leukaemia at the age of 22 it was assumed she was an unfortunate victim of naturally occurring abnormalities that often account for the disease. Her father, however, was not convinced. Sanggi Hwang’s search for the truth about his daughter’s death has convinced him that it was her job at a Samsung semiconductor factory that led to her untimely death on 6 March 2007. His fight for justice has subsequently enlisted the support of a new-formed coalition of NGOs calling on Samsung to accept responsibly for what Ted Smith (from the International Campaign for Responsible Technology in San Jose, California) calls “a serious blood cancer cluster” similar to that alleged in a court case brought against IBM in late 2003. (click on the link above for more details)
· A video of some of the Samsung victims and their families is available at: http://dotsub.com/view/6147f3b8-99fc-48c2-acbe-d95be38eddd1
· see http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/30 -- “Mortality among US employees of a large computer manufacturing company: 1969–2001” – this study shows similar patterns of mortality to Samsung
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