Park & Pellow: The Political Economy of Work and Health in Silicon Valley

The chapter “The Political Economy of Work and Health in Silicon Valley” gives us an inside look at the corruption and environmental inequality of the high-tech region of Silicon Valley. The authors reveal how over the years the toxic environments created by the electronic industry have resulted in various health issues for its workers. Both workers inside the plants and people living in the surrounding communities are being affected, as chemical pollutions seep into the ecosystems of these areas. The text reveals that, “Today, up to a thousand different chemicals and metals are used in the various processes required to produce semiconductor chips. Clearly, the toxic spills that have enraged communities located near chip plants must also be impacting those workers inside the plants” (Park & Pellow, 91). As a result, countless people working within the industry or living in areas near toxic waste sites have suffered from illnesses such as cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects. However, industry representatives continue to claim that no relationship exists between the heavy chemical use in electronics and these elevated negative health outcomes (Pellow & Park, 94).

The chapter also touches on the issues of both racial and gender inequalities within the industry. According to the reading, “An estimated 70 to 80 percent of people working in production jobs in the Valley are immigrants, women, and people of color” (Park & Pellow, 88). Access to these immigrants, mainly coming in from Asia and Latin America, and the exploitation of cheap labor have been made easier due to the revision of immigration laws over the years. Both the 1965 Immigration Act and the Immigration Act of 1990 allowed a massive influx of immigration workers into the United States, much to the advantage of the electronic industries who were in need of cheap labor. Many employers apparently seek production workers who meet the description of “small, foreign, and female” due to the fact that they are generally more dexterous and better at performing intricate tasks required in electronic firms, as well as that they are less likely to demand rights or organize collectively (Park & Pellow, 88)

In researching the authors I was surprised to discover that the co-writers of this reading, David Naguib Pellow and Lisa Sun-Hee Park, have strikingly similar backgrounds. They both received their Ph.D’s in sociology from Northwestern University, were both Associate Professors of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and are both currently professors at the University of Minnesota. Pellow holds the position of Professor, Don Martindale Endowed Chair for the Sociology department, and Park is a professor of Sociology and Asian-American studies. They have written two books together, their first being the book from this reading, “The Silicon Valley of Dreams: environmental injustice, immigrant workers, and the high-tech global economy” which was published in 2002. Several years later in 2011 they released their second book, “The Slums of Aspen immigrants vs. the environment in America’s Eden.” Both Pellow and Park’s main area of studies include environmental justice, racial and ethnic inequality, and immigrant labor.

Works Cited

Pellow, David N., and Lisa Sun-Hee. Park. "The Political Economy of Work and Health in Silicon Valley." The Silicon Valley of Dreams: Environmental Injustice, Immigrant Workers, and the High-tech Global Economy. New York: New York UP, 2002. 85-111. Print.