Picket signs and chanting activists are not an uncommon sight in San Francisco, a city known for its protests and advocacy.

But what set the dozens who marched down Market Street on Thursday apart from the typical rallies that sprout from the city’s streets was that many of those waving the giant inflatable poop emojis and dollar bills work in the very industry they had gathered to shame: the tech industry.

With the tech industry torn on a November election ballot measure that would tax high-earning San Francisco businesses and redirect millions of dollars to help combat homelessness – and companies such as Lyft and Stripe, and Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars against the measure – tech workers have entered the fray to make it known where they stand on the measure known as Proposition C.

“I’m out here because I know the face that tech has in San Francisco,” said Sam Heft-Luthy, 24, a product manager at a company he declined to name. “It’s the face that Jack Dorsey wears, it’s the face that we’re seeing right now with Jack Dorsey, with [Stripe CEO] Patrick Collison, all coming out against Prop C. I know that both as a citizen of San Francisco who wants to see this homeless crisis change and as a person who is currently employed in tech, there is an outsized impact in coming out and saying that when these billionaires who own these companies are speaking out against these important measures, they don’t do so with my voice.”

The tech workers mingled with activists from the Coalition on Homelessness, one of the main architects behind Prop C, outside the Twitter building on Market, chanting, “Yes on C, no on greed!” and passing out leaflets about the ballot measure to passersby. The poop emojis they waved all wore pink Lyft mustaches, and some were decorated with the smiley face emoji with money-sign eyes.

The measure would implement an average 0.5% gross receipts tax on company revenues over $50m, raising an estimated $250-$300m in additional venue that would go toward housing the homeless, providing housing assistance, and bolstering mental health services.

Marc Benioff, the Salesforce CEO, has come out strongly in favor of Prop C, donating $2.5m toward the campaign and battling on Twitter with Dorsey. He has accused his fellow billionaires of “hoarding” their money and refusing to give back to the city where they made their wealth.

“These companies pushed for tax breaks to relocate here in San Francisco and now with their billions in wealth, companies like Square, Lyft and Stripe, who have a combined worth of $65bn, are bankrolling ‘No on C’ to keep the status quo,” Evan Owski, an engineer at LinkedIn, said to the crowd. “Tech is part of the problem and now we’re demanding that they be part of the solution. We demand as workers and as the people of San Francisco that tech companies and tech leaders support ‘Yes on C’.”

“For people like me!” shouted 64-year-old Stanley Jackson, who had been homeless in San Francisco for 28 years.

“Yes!” Owski said, to cheers.

Later, as Jackson worked to sell copies of Street Sheet, the independent newspaper put out by the Coalition on Homelessness as a way for the homeless to earn money, he said he was heartened to see the tech workers come out in support of Prop C.

“After all,” he said, “one of the most important commandments in the Bible is ‘love your neighbor.’”