Description
Book SynopsisIn 1971, when General Telephone and Electric relocated its GTE Lenkurt plant to Albuquerque, New Mexico, city fathers were elated. GTE Lenkurt became the largest manufacturing employer in the state. This title uncovers more than 200 GTE workers (95 per cent of them women, 70 per cent of them Hispanic), each of them had an array of health problems.
Trade Review"[A]n exposé of the nature of chemical exposures in electronics, and of the 'archaic, random...set of institutions...that many injured workers must rely on for support, ...impossible to put down."—
Women's Review of Books"A chilling story of what can happen when corporations like GTE put their profit margins ahead of human lives, and how the court system is often the only way victims can get relief."—
Pamela Gilbert, Legislative Director, Public Citizen's Congress Watch
"A sensitive and gripping tale...Steve Fox successfully brings together issues of labor organizing, gender, work roles, minorities, and toxic hazards. This is a valuable contribution to the small but growing numbers of case studies of toxic wastes and collective action."—
Professor Phil Brown, Department of Sociology, Brown University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The First Plaintiff 2. GTE's History in Albuquerque 3. Health Complaints and the Deaths of Friends 4. Federal Investigations, Riots, and Strikes 5. Josephine Rohr Builds a Case Against GTE 6. Medical Experts: Interpreting Facts 7. Settlement: Deals for Verdicts 8. Suing the Chemical Manufacturers: Dow, Du Pont, and Shell Conclusions Notes Selected Bibliography Index
