Tech workers and Google leadership have both been very naive. Tech workers for believing that they can have influence within a company when it really matters, Company leadership for going along with it, and maybe even believing it by themselves at times.

Unless the CEO gets a mandate from the board and shareholders saying that It's OK to take financial hit because employer activism inside the firm is so important, it's all patronizing and empty talk.

There are only few ways employers can do political action inside a big company when labor laws are weak.

  1. Quitting. 
  2. Unsanctioned agitation (getting fired if caught)
  3. Sabotage (risking getting charged if caught)  

The normal way is to act as a private citizen outside the company.