Micron Megafab Project Faces a New Hurdle as Activists Seek a Benefits Deal

Activists are demanding a way to hold the memory-chip maker accountable to its promises to protect the environment and embrace communities of color in central New York.

Days after Micron broke ground on a $100 billion chip factory in New York state, a coalition of environmentalists, labor unions, and civil rights groups are urging the US tech giant to sign a deal that would make a series of promises to be a good neighbor legally enforceable.

Micron’s megafab to make memory chips is on track to become the biggest commercial development in state history and the largest chipmaking complex in the country. Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony in the city of Clay, near Syracuse, last Friday. The first chips could arrive in five years, though the entire site won’t be finished for 20 years.

Organizers and members of the Central New York United for Community Benefits Coalition—composed ...