San Francisco Pride members pass resolution to ban Google, YouTube from future parades

FILE - Google protestors are seen at San Francisco Pride on June 30, 2019. Activists expressed their frustration with the company's LGBTQ+ policy this month after the company decided that homophobic and racial slurs about a Vox journalist in a video posted by conservative commentator Steven Crowder did not violate YouTube's terms of service. less FILE - Google protestors are seen at San Francisco Pride on June 30, 2019. Activists expressed their frustration with the company's LGBTQ+ policy this month after the company decided that homophobic and racial ... more Photo: Amanda Bartlett Photo: Amanda Bartlett Image 1 of / 115 Caption Close San Francisco Pride members pass resolution to ban Google, YouTube from future parades 1 / 115 Back to Gallery

San Francisco Pride's rocky relationship with Google and its affiliates may be coming to an end.

Members of the LGBTQ+ organization say they passed an amendment to ban Google, YouTube and Alphabet, as well as the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, from future celebrations after a vote at their monthly membership meeting Wednesday night.

In a statement released to SFGATE on Thursday, SF Pride members and former Google engineers Laurence Berland and Tyler Breisacher said they are now urging the board of directors to formally approve the motion at their upcoming meeting on Feb. 5.

The community-based organization has a current roster of 326 members, who are vetted through an application process and agree to pay annual dues, allowing them to participate in the nomination and selection of Grand Marshals, choose the yearly theme of the parade and eventually vote on who will represent the board.

Berland said he believes SF Pride members have the authority to pass the ban, though some board members at the meeting disagreed, claiming the board of directors will also need to pass the motion in order for it to be legally binding to the organization.

"The Pride Board values the voices of the membership, and our responsibility to the many civic and business partners it takes to produce the city’s largest event," interim executive director Fred Lopez told SFGATE.

Even so, Berland and Breisacher said current organization bylaws don’t appear to restrict members from making amendments. Lopez confirmed the board of directors is currently consulting the organization's legal team on the matter.

“Many people have been committed to pushing SF Pride to do better. As more and more people get involved, we can move closer and closer to a Pride celebration that celebrates our LGBTQ community, rather than serving as mainly a rainbow-colored party for corporations," wrote Berland and Breisacher.

Breisacher told SFGATE he quit his job at Google in 2018 because he was frustrated with the company's sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference, among other decisions.

Last November, Berland was among four Google employees terminated from their positions for allegedly violating the company's data-security policies, according to Bloomberg, which led to a subsequent revelation of the company’s connections to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

But the engineers, including Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers and Sophie Waldman, disputed that claim in a separate statement released last month, claiming they were fired for participating in “legally protected labor organizing” outside of Google’s San Francisco offices just days before.

Read the thread for the details, but tldr: the members have voted, we did it! * https://t.co/sRWz4RRWbl — Ban Google From Pride (@NoPrideForGoog) January 16, 2020

Earlier that year, at least 100 Google employees signed a letter requesting to be banned from the 2019 Pride Parade, also urging the organizing to revoke their employer’s sponsorship. San Francisco Pride officials denied the request, calling Google "a considerate partner of SF Pride for a number of years," though that didn't stop a group of protestors from marching behind the company’s float, bearing signage that read “Gayglers Deserve Better” and “No Pride in YouTube.”

The demonstration was in response to the company claiming they would “take a hard look” at their policies after ruling homophobic and racial slurs posted by conservative commentator Steven Crowder against Vox journalist Carlos Maza did not violate YouTube’s terms of service.

“Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they don’t violate our policies, they’ll remain on our site,” YouTube tweeted at the time. The company suspended monetization of Crowder’s channel a day later.

According to Thursday's statement, SF Pride’s corporate accountability committee will convene to determine whether other companies should also be banned from the parade and related festivities. Rather than singling out Google, they said they are hoping to ignite a deeper conversation about what they expect from future participating companies.

“Companies are no longer scared to be seen as pro-LGBTQ; in fact, their participation is a great opportunity for them. We believe companies should earn that opportunity by proving that they really do stand with our community,” the statement read. “SF Pride often points out that it is the most-watched Pride in the world, and that gives it the power to influence the direction that corporations take.”

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The Alameda County Sheriff’s office may also potentially be barred following Wednesday’s early morning raid and eviction of mothers organizing on behalf of "Moms 4 Housing." Four individuals were arrested for occupying a vacant house at 2928 Magnolia Street in Oakland without permission – reportedly owned by a corporate “house-flipping” company – as a means of protest against homes left empty despite the housing crisis.

“I was absolutely infuriated by how the sheriffs violently evicted (them) and arrested four using a militarized force in full body armor and an APC (armored personnel carrier), and wanted to help,” said Berland.

Footage showed the mothers being handcuffed and forcefully removed from the premises by sheriffs who reportedly arrived on the scene in combat gear.

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“We feel this demonstrates clearly that the Alameda County Sheriffs are not an ally to our community either, and we were pleased that a resolution banning them from marching in uniform at Pride passed as well,” wrote Berland and Breisacher.

Read the full statement here.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated Tyler Breisacher was one of four employees terminated by Google last November. He had quit in 2018.

Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett