"It's certainly a much different process in the end versus what we saw at the beginning with regards to community and labor movement," said Jeffrey Buchanan, director of public policy for San Jose-based community coalition Working Partnerships USA.
"It was a reminder of how organizing works and matters," said nonprofit Silicon Valley Rising director Maria Noel Fernandez. "Now, it really does feel like a partnership."
The successful partnership comes as tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon seek to expand their real estate footprint around the country while residents complain of displacement. It comes two years after Amazon famously abandoned plans to build a campus in New York after communities opposed it. It also comes as labor groups and employees are growing more vocal about the influence big tech companies exercise. Some local organizers said their success with Google is paving a path for future organizing with tech.