A recent headline in Politico asks, “Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?” It’s a good question. The article charts the march of labor union Unite Here Local 11 through the city’s policymaking apparatus and the bruising fights the union has picked with the city’s job creators, especially those in the hospitality industry. 

Meanwhile, some members of the City Council express occasional concern about the damage that’s been done to the city’s reputation and whether it will be able to host a Super Bowl, World Cup, and Summer Olympic Games in successive years, but not enough, apparently, to do anything to broker a lasting truce between the union and the private businesses that are now looking for more welcoming environments. 

Instead of disputes being settled at the negotiating table with the help of elected officials, the voting booth is increasingly where Big Labor and job creators square off.  

We’re fortunate that in Arizona we don’t have city governments that are as openly hostile to job creation and a competitive business environment as L.A.  

Not yet, anyway. We can’t get too comfortable.  

That’s because Unite Here Local 11’s territory not only includes Southern California, but Arizona, too. The union is growing its presence here, organizing job-killing ballot measures, targeting specific businesses, throwing up roadblocks to development, and backing candidates for city council positions. 

In Glendale, the union was the driving force behind Proposition 499 in 2024, a measure that would have burdened the city’s hospitality sector and taxpayers with costly new mandates. A year later, the union was back at it again, organizing Propositions 401 and 402, which attempted to block the development of a critical phase of what is slated to be the state’s largest resort, employing more than 2,000 Arizonans. In each case, the business community rallied to stop the union. 

The pattern has been clear: if you’re a business that dares to succeed, you’re a target. Take Scottsdale, where Unite Here operatives helped circulate the petitions aimed at freezing the new Axon corporate headquarters development, an investment promising thousands of high-paying jobs. Stopping job creators in their tracks seems to be part of the union’s playbook. Like it did in Glendale, the business community came together to stand up for Scottsdale jobs. So did a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

The union isn’t content to restrict its influence to ballot measures and development fights. Unite Here is increasingly active in Arizona municipal politics, lining up behind city council candidates in Tucson, Phoenix and Glendale who share their agenda. Their candidates may speak in platitudes about fairness and equity, but what they really offer is a city government more hostile to employers, less friendly to entrepreneurs, and far more willing to use public policy as a cudgel against job creation. 

We’re also seeing a similar playbook from other California-based unions. The Service Employees International Union just announced a ballot initiative to cap the salaries of Arizona hospital executives, regardless of the size or complexity of the health system they lead, never mind that the proposal tramples any semblance of the right to contract. 

Supporters may say the measure is about fairness, but it would just make it harder to recruit and retain the kind of medical leadership our state needs to ensure access to lifesaving care. It’s obvious that this isn’t about strengthening health care in Arizona – it’s about importing California’s labor fights to our ballot. 

Arizona can’t afford to import Los Angeles-style dysfunction. We’ve built a reputation as a state where job creators are welcomed, where investment is encouraged, and where opportunity is still available for those willing to work hard and take risks. That reputation is one of our greatest competitive advantages, but it won’t endure if we ignore the encroachment of those who would rather grind our economy to a halt in service of their narrow political agenda. 

Arizona’s job creators are resilient, but they need policymakers at all levels of government to stand firm and defend our pro-jobs environment, and call out efforts, no matter how cleverly disguised, that would weaken it.  

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.