Experts and Advocates Highlight the Impacts of Chip Production

Phoenix, AZ - On Wednesday, October 8, 2025, more than 75 academic experts, environmental and community advocates, and labor leaders gathered for The Dark Side of the Chip conference in downtown Phoenix. International and domestic experts and activists came together to discuss overlooked perspectives on the semiconductor industry, raise awareness about the industry's past mistakes, and propose pathways toward a high-road future. The conference took place a mile away and at the same time as the industry trade show SEMICON West, which cast Arizona's chip manufacturing boom in an overwhelmingly positive light.

"Celebrating the semiconductor boom is only one side of the story. Historically, the industry has a poor track record as a neighbor and an employer. Since its birth in Silicon Valley in the 1960s, the industry has often succeeded at the expense of communities and workers, sometimes providing unsafe, low-quality jobs and exposing nearby communities to toxic pollution," said Judith Barish, coalition director from CHIPS Communities United. "We support reshoring chip production, but we should ensure it is the kind of industry that American communities deserve."

"Each fab delivering TSMC's 2nm project uses energy equivalent to almost a third of the electricity that the entire city of Phoenix consumes," said Mark Po-Jen Hsu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer from the Taiwanese legal and environmental organization, Environmental Rights Foundation. "Can your local infrastructure really handle the extreme resource demands of advanced chip manufacturing?"

"The semiconductor industry flourishes in the shadows," said Harry Manin, who directs the Industrial Transformation Campaign for the Sierra Club. "If we knew how it was sourcing steel and cement, we could organize for better alternatives. If we were told the exact chemicals that would be used and their purposes, we'd be better able to innovate and substitute. By illuminating the dark side of the chip and demanding utter transparency from these companies, chip workers and chip communities can better protect themselves."

"Arizona is emerging as the epicenter of the growing semiconductor boom," said Fred Yamashita, Secretary Treasurer of the Arizona AFL-CIO. "If billions of taxpayer dollars are invested to bring semiconductor companies to the state, then Arizonans should benefit from the industrial expansion with safe, high-paying, union jobs."

The conference ended on a hopeful note, highlighting how local communities, experts, and labor leaders are coming together to hold local chip companies accountable to both workers and the community. This included a recent win by community members in Peoria, who pushed back against the proposed Amkor project that was slated for construction next to schools and residential homes and persuaded decision-makers to relocate the factory.

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.