Yesterday, Google came to San Jose. Not for the proposed 20,000-employee mega-campus it wants to open in the city – but for its annual marketing conference, which was held this year at the San Jose Convention Center.
And a team of community activists were there to welcome them and deliver a message to Google and its advertisers: affordable housing now!
If Google wants to open its huge new mega-campus in San Jose, we can’t repeat the mistakes made in Google’s current hometown of Mountain View.
Tech’s failure to take responsibility for its local impacts led to skyrocketing rents, soaring numbers of homeless residents and families kicked out of their homes and priced out of their communities.
Hundreds of conference delegates and Googlers walked into the convention center past a row of tents, sleeping bags and protesters holding signs.
The message was clear: the people of San Jose want Google to commit to a community benefits agreement with our community to ensure that both Google and the people of San Jose benefit from this deal.
