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Legal Case Files (3 of 7)

 File — Box: 7, Folder: 9
Identifier: Series IV:

Scope and Contents

From the Series:

The contents in this series document the Campaign to End the Miscarriage of Justice (CEMJ) organized by the Santa Clara Center for Occupational Health (SCCOSH) and the Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition (SVTC). The CEMJ pressured electronics manufacturers into eliminating certain widely used chemical solvents such as ethylene-based glycol ethers, which occupational health studies linked to increased miscarriages and other reproductive problems among workers. The collection consists of legal case files and VHS tapes recording depositions and legal hearings. The lawsuits represented include Cruz v. Wilson Safety Products (199?), Perez v. Varian Association & Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (1997), Carreon v. Skywest Technology (1989), Carreon v. Shugart Company (1989), and Romic v. OSHA (1998). Much of the CEMJ campaign focused on obtaining justice for Rodrigo Cruz, a former employee of Romic Environmental Technologies. Silicon Valley technology firms hired Romic to collect and haul toxic waste. The company had a long-term record as a violator of health and safety laws, and their employees were forced to use faulty equipment or faced being fired. Cruz was critically injured on the job as result of a defective protective mask that slowly suffocated him while working on a job site. The CEMJ and SCCOSH protested on his behalf through public demonstrations and together they formed the "Justice for Rodrigo Cruz Campaign." The collection of research files and the VHS tapes document the role of grassroots coalitions to support worker's rights and to force tech companies to comply with state and local environmental regulations, and specifically to end their contracts with Romic. The big firms associated with Romic included: Intel, Hewlitt Packard, Linear Tech, National Semiconductor, Seagate, NEC Electronics, and Boeing.

Dates

  • Creation: 1980-1998

Creator

Access

The collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 34 boxes (34 linear feet)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
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(408) 808-2063 (Fax)