Boycotts and Counter-Boycotts

July 6, 2010

As everyone, yes everyone, knows, Arizona has passed a law allowing its law enforcement personnel to inquire as to a person's immigration status when that person has been stopped for what might be a separate law violation. Regardless of your position on that law, another issue now follows it: boycotts of Arizona businesses.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon who has opposed the new Arizona law, asked San Francisco supervisors to wait before taking such a drastic step of boycotting Arizona businesses stating: "Calling for a boycott now would hurt immigrants and residents who depend on the revenue for their own employment," He isn't the only one to complain. Hundreds if not thousands and tens of thousands of people are opposed to such boycotts. There is even a new trend now: Arizona residents boycotting the boycott. I know of an Arizona Family that scheduled its family reunion to avoid a California (and especially a San Francisco, Los Angeles or San Diego) venue. They went to a separate state altogether.

Here is a link for you: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/17/san-diego-faces-medicine-arizona-residents-cancel-travel-following-boycott/

This link's article begins: "San Diego Faces Own Medicine as Arizona Residents Cancel Travel Following Boycott of State".

OK, so how does this affect OUR business?

Governmental entities routinely retain the beneficial services of a public adjuster. These agencies utilize an RFP (Request for Proposal) and public adjusters respond to these offering and outlining what services could be provided. As a firm domiciled in Arizona, even though we have a full service office in Oklahoma, we would be prevented from even submitting our offer of services in the boycotting California cities.

This certainly sounds like those Cities are giving California companies who want to compete with us, an edge.

If you live in Arizona and are being contacted by someone from a boycotting city offering services that we provide, we would ask that you keep this in mind when making a decision as to whom should be YOUR advocate. Perhaps since we can't provide services in offended cities, maybe firms from those cities should be concentrating on those cities now and should not be in Arizona.