• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Working Partnerships

Grassroots organizing & public policy innovation for a just economy

SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Story
    • Theory of Change
    • People
    • Work with Us
    • Year in Review
  • Work
    • Just Economy
      • South Bay and Peninsula High Road Roundtable
      • High Road Manufacturing
      • Trades Orientation Program
      • Fair Workplace Collaborative
    • Future of Workers
    • Just Cities
      • A home for every family
      • Accessible transit for all
    • Care for All
    • Vibrant Democracy
      • Redistricting
  • Research
  • News
    • Media Coverage
    • Press Resources
    • Updates
  • Volunteer
  • Donate

The Price of Innovation for Silicon Valley’s Workers

If we want tech growth to create widespread prosperity, we need to shift the rules that determine who reaps the benefits.

By Bob Brownstein, Strategic Advisor

Google is planning to build Silicon Valley’s biggest tech campus in downtown San Jose. It’s a project that business leaders have predicted will be a huge economic boon for the Bay Area’s largest city. But will it really benefit most Silicon Valley residents? Twenty years of data give good reason to be skeptical.

Two decades ago — when Google was run out of a garage in Menlo Park — I co-wrote a report finding that the then-nascent tech economy was contributing to instability and insecurity among low-wage workers. This year, we conducted a follow-up study looking at how workers in Silicon Valley have fared in the years since.

What we discovered was surprising: even though Silicon Valley has recorded the strongest per capita economic growth in the nation, nearly 9 in 10 jobs here pay lower real wages today than they did in 2001. The tech economy is not just failing low-wage workers. It’s now shortchanging nearly all workers.

Why is this happening? We found that the tech industry has adopted business models which let shareholders, executives, and the very upper echelons of tech workers capture an outsized share of the wealth generated by the sector’s growth. For instance, social media platforms or search engines derive a large portion of their profits not from the activities of the company itself, but rather from the network of people posting and searching.

These network effects lead to monopolistic ‘winner-take-all’ markets. An initial slight advantage can result in one or a few firms dominating an entire market, bending the rewards of production towards investors and executives. Those gains have come at the expense of workers and local communities — if workers had kept as much of the wealth they created in 2016 as they did in 2001, each worker would have been paid an extra $8,480 that year alone.

Google exemplifies these trends. Larry Page and Sergei Brin founded Google 20 years ago with technology developed on a National Science Foundation-funded research project. Since then, it has grown into an $800 billion company that accounts for 90 percent of internet searches.

Yet as it has grown, the tech giant has shifted towards hiring more contract workers instead of full-time employees. Contractors often have lower wages, fewer benefits and more job insecurity. Bloomberg reports that contractors now make up the majority of Google’s global workforce.

Meanwhile, Google has driven up the cost of living near its Mountain View headquarters, pricing more and more residents out of their homes. RVs line Mountain View’s streets and many workers face longer commutes after being forced to move further away.

This happens over and over again in Silicon Valley. A small number of firms end up dominating entire markets, funneling enormous rewards towards investors and away from everyone else.

If we want tech growth to create widespread prosperity, we need to shift the rules that determine who benefits from innovation. The data we’ve studied tells us that simply bringing a big tech company into town does not create prosperity. But there are ways we can make sure that communities get a share of the wealth.

For Google’s proposed mega-campus, that could start with a community benefits package. In exchange for selling the tech giant some of San Jose’s most valuable public land, grassroots groups — including the Silicon Valley Rising coalition that we’re part of — have called on Google to negotiate a community benefits agreement to invest in affordable housing, prevent displacement, ensure family supporting jobs for construction and service workers, and address other needs while giving the community a role in enforcement.

Such an agreement would be a promising step towards compensating the public for their contributions and ensuring that Google’s growth benefits not just wealthy investors, but also the broader public.

Addressing economic inequality and financial insecurity brought by the growth of the tech sector will take a range of solutions, but steps like a community benefits agreement can put us on the right trajectory. If the next wave of innovation is going to bring advances — not just in technology, but in the lives of working families — then people need to be equal partners in shaping how tech grows in our communities.

Bob Brownstein is the Strategic Advisor at Working Partnerships USA and a co-author of the new report, “Innovating Inequality: How tech’s business models concentrate wealth while shortchanging workers.”

Originally published on Inequality.org

Back to Graduate Stories
Back to Blog
Back to Reports

Footer

workingpartnershipsusa

We are proud to stand alongside @seiu521, @seiu102 We are proud to stand alongside @seiu521, @seiu1021, @parentvoicesoakland, Headstart workers, parents, and providers to demand justice for our children, families, and care workers from our Care Workers Council. 

Childcare is under attack in Santa Clara County.
❌ Headstart and Early Head Start are being defunded
❌ Childcare providers are being laid off
❌ Facilities are shutting down permanently

These cuts hit hardest in East and South County, where families already face limited access to childcare. These are childcare deserts — and they’re growing.

This is a call to action: Invest in care, not cuts.

Every child deserves a safe, nurturing place to grow. Every working family deserves support. Every provider deserves respect.

We're organizing for Childcare for All — because strong communities start with strong care.

#ChildcareForAll #StopTheCuts #SEIU521 #WorkingPartnershipsUSA #HeadStartMatters #InvestInCare #CommunityPower #SouthBaySolidarity #WhenWeFightWeWi
🔹 Employers in San Jose with 36 or more employe 🔹 Employers in San Jose with 36 or more employees are legally required to prioritize offering additional work hours to qualified part-time employees before hiring external candidates, including subcontractors or temporary staffing agencies.⁠
🔹 This ordinance aims to increase economic stability for part-time workers by ensuring they have the first opportunity to take on additional hours before new hires are considered.⁠
🔹 Non-compliance can result in city-led investigations and financial penalties for violating businesses.⁠
⁠
NEW REPORT by @CHIRLA_ORG and @CAFastFoodUnion she NEW REPORT by @CHIRLA_ORG and @CAFastFoodUnion sheds light on the specific ways that fear about immigration status, and lack of knowledge about their rights, are impacting the lives of over 600,000 fast food workers across California.

While union workers have used their rights to hold fast food bosses accountable, many workers continue to live in fear.

Thanks to the bold leadership of our elected representatives , Santa Clara County is exploring providing Know Your Rights training for fast food workers. We need to let them know that we support safe, in-person training for Fast Food Workers in our county, where they can learn about their rights, understand labor laws, and connect with trusted resource people for guidance on workplace issues.

Read the report: https://www.chirla.org/fastfoodworkersreport/
Last week in San Jose, we gathered with workers an Last week in San Jose, we gathered with workers and community members from across our campaigns — app-based drivers, care workers, Berryessa Flea Market vendors, trades program participants, and more — for a community BBQ and potluck.⁠
⁠
It was a chance to slow down, share a meal, and connect across the different parts of our work and lives. We enjoyed fresh-off-the-grill tacos 🌮 and elotes 🌽, music, games for the kids, and a piñata — and meaningful time spent together.⁠
⁠
Huge shoutout to our team for pouring heart into every detail, and to everyone who showed up, brought food, brought love ❤️, and brought hope.⁠
⁠
We’re proud to be part of this vibrant, unstoppable community in Santa Clara County — and even prouder to keep growing it together 🌱.
📢 We're hiring at Working Partnerships USA!⁠ 📢 We're hiring at Working Partnerships USA!⁠
⁠
If you're ready to turn your passion for social justice into action, this is your chance to join a team fighting for economic equity, workers’ rights, and real community power. From supporting groundbreaking workforce programs to organizing alongside working families, our open roles offer the opportunity to make meaningful change in the South Bay and beyond.⁠
⁠
We're looking for driven, values-aligned individuals to join us in building a future where everyone can thrive.⁠
⁠
Scan the QR Codes or use the link in our bio to apply! 🔗
🚨 May Day is OUR day 🚨⁠ ⁠ This May 1st, 🚨 May Day is OUR day 🚨⁠
⁠
This May 1st, we’re hitting the streets with workers, immigrants, and our Santa Clara community—because when we move together, we’re unstoppable.⁠
⁠
We're bringing our voices, our stories, our culture to the streets—because when our community stands united, no force can silence us, divide us, or steal our future.⁠
⁠
We’re not just marching. We’re building power. We’re demanding dignity. We’re showing up for each other.⁠
⁠
📍 Story & King, San José⁠
🎉 Rally: 2:30pm | March: 4:00pm | Ends at City Hall with performances and community celebration ⁠
⁠
📢 Calling all future organizers, advocates, and 📢 Calling all future organizers, advocates, and changemakers! ✨ 

Working Partnerships USA's Bill Leininger Summer Justice Internship application is now open! This paid, 8-week internship is your chance to dive into real community change work—supporting campaigns that fight for racial justice, workers’ rights, housing, and more right here in Santa Clara County.

Whether you’re a student, a new organizer, or just interested in movement work, this is an awesome opportunity to learn hands-on organizing, connect with mentors, and grow your leadership. You’ll be matched with a campaign that fits your interests and get to see the impact of grassroots power up close.

✨ Apps are due May 10—so don’t wait! ✨

This internship is open to everyone—if you’re passionate about justice and ready to make a difference, we encourage you to apply. Just bring your energy, curiosity, and commitment to community.

Apply today using the link in our bio! 🔗
🕯This year's Workers’ Memorial Day event was 🕯This year's Workers’ Memorial Day event was a powerful reminder of why this work is urgent and necessary. In a world where too many workers still face unsafe conditions, low wages, and a lack of basic protections, creating spaces to share knowledge, build solidarity, and honor those we’ve lost is essential to pushing for real change.⁠
⁠
Through worker stories, hands-on trainings, and open conversations about immigrant rights and workplace safety, we created a space for learning, healing, and collective action. As we continue the fight for safer, fairer workplaces, we carry with us the memories of those we honored and the lessons we heard. ⁠
⁠
The movement for workplace justice doesn’t end with a single event—it lives on in every worker who speaks out, every right we defend, and every community we build together. 💪⁠
⁠
Shout out to @somosmayfair, @pawissouthbay @stepfwd.fdn @sccfairwrkplace @scc_rapidresponsenetwork and our volunteers who made this event possible!⁠
⁠
If you or someone you know needs support, resources, or legal help, visit The Fair Workplace Collaborative website to get connected: https://wpusa.org/work/just-economy/fair-workplace-collaborative/ :link:
🤝 This Saturday, April 26, The Fair Workplace C 🤝 This Saturday, April 26, The Fair Workplace Collaborative invites you to a powerful Workers' Memorial Day event honoring the lives of those lost to unsafe working conditions—and empowering those still on the job today.⁠
⁠
Through trainings, storytelling, group activities, and an immigration Q&A panel, we’re creating a space where workers can come together to learn, connect, and support each other. You’ll be able to tap into resources from local and state organizations, hear directly from fellow workers about what they’ve faced on the job, and get real answers to your questions. Together, we’ll honor the lives of those we've lost to unsafe workplaces, build stronger bonds across our communities, and walk away with tools to protect ourselves and each other.⁠
⁠
Childcare will be provided, and free food will be available to support community engagement. Doors open at 5PM with opening stories and coffee/pan dulce, followed by an evening full of learning, reflection, and solidarity. ⁠
⁠
Whether you're a worker, an ally, or a community member committed to justice, we welcome you to be part of this day of remembrance, education, and action. ✊ Sign up using the link in our bio 🔗
✨Save the Date—Celebrate 30 Years of Powering ✨Save the Date—Celebrate 30 Years of Powering Progress in the South Bay!✨⁠
⁠
For 30 years, Working Partnerships USA has been powering progress and shaping a better future for working families in the South Bay. This year, we celebrate that legacy—and the bold vision we’re building for the next 30 years.⁠
⁠
In exactly 6 months from now, join us on October 17, 2025, at the Signia by Hilton in San Jose, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary at the Champions for Change Gala. ⁠
⁠
Together, we’ll honor the advocates, leaders, and movements driving transformation in our communities, recognize the progress we’ve made and recommit to growing local power, strengthening our regional economy, and ensuring a just future for everyone who lives and works in Santa Clara County.⁠
⁠
Use the link in bio to save the date on your calendar 🔗⁠
⁠
Stay tuned for announcements about featured speakers, our 2025 Champions, sponsorship opportunities, and ticket sales.
Now more than ever, fast food workers need access Now more than ever, fast food workers need access to Know Your Rights trainings.

From wage theft to unsafe working conditions to unpredictable scheduling, too many workers are facing exploitation without the tools to fight back.

Know Your Rights trainings are critical for empowering workers with the knowledge they need to stand up, speak out, and demand better. These trainings are more than just information—they’re a step toward dignity, safety, and justice on the job.

Today, let's call on Santa Clara County to ensure every fast food worker is empowered to advocate for their rights and their wellbeing!
🗣️ Workers from different sectors of our comm 🗣️ Workers from different sectors of our community came together for a powerful Workers Roundtable with the candidates running to represent San Jose District 3.

In a city where working people are the backbone of our communities—providing care, serving food, driving passengers, cleaning homes, and more—worker voices deserve to be at the forefront of the decisions that will shape their lives and livelihoods.

At the roundtable, workers spoke honestly about what it’s like to live and work in San Jose today—the struggle to pay rent on low wages, having insufficient benefits or protections, unsafe job conditions, and more. In turn, candidates shared their vision for a San Jose that works for everyone, and their individual plans to incorporate care, dignity, and fairness at the center of the city's policy decisions.

Polls are open tomorrow for San Jose's D3 Special Election. Let's make sure the voices of working families are heard! 🗳️
Follow on Instagram

WORKING PARTNERSHIPS USA
2302 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95131
P: (408) 809-2120 | F: (408) 269-0183
MEDIA CONTACTS | PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright © 2025 Working Partnerships USA