CALL TO SMALL BUSINESS ACTION
Tell the FTC: Don’t drop. Don’t settle. Hold Amazon accountable for its harms
It’s not easy or convenient for small businesses to step away from operating their business, but bringing them together with antitrust enforcers and policy leaders is crucial for identifying enforcement actions and legislation to help level the playing field. Co-hosted by Local First Arizona (LFA) and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), “Confronting Corporate Power — The Fight for Small Businesses in an Age of Consolidation,” gathered small business owners, community advocates, congressional staff, and antitrust leaders in late September to share their stories, exchange ideas, and build momentum for the growing anti-monopoly movement.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is taking on some of the country’s most powerful corporations, from Amazon to Live Nation-Ticketmaster, brought that fight to a packed room at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix, Ariz. In her keynote, AG Mayes highlighted antitrust actions her office is taking to ensure Arizona’s small businesses have access to fair markets, including against Amazon, Zillow and Redfin in the housing market; Paramount and Warner Bros in the media sector; and Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the live entertainment industry.
The event gave local business owners a space to share with leaders how corporate consolidation is squeezing them out of their own markets. They voiced frustrations about corporate power, from corporate “middlemen” extracting excessive fees and acting as market gatekeepers to Amazon’s dominance and big delivery platforms like DoorDash.
Their small business stories prompted action, including AG Mayes’s announcement at the event that she will convene a working group, with Local First AZ’s partnership, to tackle the growing capture of public purchasing.
