FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 9, 2021
Delaware State Senate Majority Caucus
Contact: Scott Goss (302) 744-4180, or
Dylan McDowell (302) 744-4282
Delaware State Senate Majority Caucus
Contact: Scott Goss (302) 744-4180, or
Dylan McDowell (302) 744-4282
Sen. jack walsh proposes raising delaware minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025
DOVER – Sen. Jack Walsh introduced legislation on Tuesday that would add Delaware to a growing list of states raising their minimum wages to $15 an hour.
The legislation is being co-sponsored by all 14 Senate Democrats, as well as 18 Democrats in the Delaware House of Representatives.
“As Delaware faces the greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes, it is our lowest-paid workers who are being asked to put their own health at risk so people who can afford to work from home are able to buy groceries, and sleep at night knowing their most vulnerable family members are being cared for,” said Walsh, D-Stanton. “Our essential workers have stepped up for us in heroic fashion. Now we need to step up for them by making sure they are paid a fair and livable wage.”
Under Senate Bill 15, Delaware’s lowest base wage would increase to $10.50 per hour next year, followed by a $1.25 raise in 2023, a $1.50 raise in 2024 and a $1.75 raise in 2025.
Those gradual increases will help to lift hundreds of families out of poverty, bolster Delaware’s economy and keep local businesses competitive with surrounding states.
“A thriving middle class is the key to economic prosperity, but even the most basic financial stability is an impossibility for thousands of Delaware workers simply because the pay floor we have set is not keeping up with the cost of living,” said Gabe Morgan, vice president of the Service Employees International Union 32 BJ. “Make no mistake: all Delawareans are paying the cost of that short-sightedness through assistance programs that are increasingly subsidizing businesses that don’t pay their workers a living wage.”
Delaware’s current minimum wage of $9.25 an hour – set in 2019 – offers what is now a bare subsistence-level of pay for most low-wage workers, who are earning just $1,480 a month before taxes.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the average 2-bedroom apartment in Delaware now costs $1,142 a month, leaving minimum-wage earners with less than $84 a week for groceries, medicine, car insurance and other necessities.
Those impossibly tight margins help to explain why 13% of Delaware children live below the poverty line and 20% are unsure of where their next meal is coming from.
“Minimum wage increases will actually aid Delaware’s economy by helping to build a widely shared recovery,” said Rep. Gerald Brady, the lead sponsor of SB 15 in the House. “Raising the minimum wage will boost the consumer spending that local businesses rely on. It will reduce the strain on the safety net caused by wages that people can’t live on and help level the playing field for businesses. Additionally, the increases will encourage the kind of fair pay, lower turnover, better customer service business model that will help small businesses survive and thrive.”
Walsh added that the notion most minimum-wage earners are teenagers working their first job is a myth.
“The reality is most people earning minimum wage are adult women and people of color,” he said. “If you want true economic justice in this state, you need to start with the minimum wage.”
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 60% of minimum-wage earners in the United States are older than 25, nearly 60% are women, 51% are people of color and 25% are supporting children.
Delaware is also trailing behind its neighbors when it comes to base-level pay.
On May 1, Delaware’s current minimum wage will be lower than the base pay required in four out of five surrounding Mid-Atlantic states, including New York ($12.50), New Jersey ($12), Maryland ($11.75) and Virginia ($9.50).
Each of those states is already on track to reach a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2025. Other than Delaware, the only remaining hold out is Pennsylvania where workers are paid the same $7.25 as required under the federal minimum wage – a rate unchanged since 2009.
“Delawareans who go to work every day shouldn’t be living in poverty,” Governor John Carney said. “As an employer, the State of Delaware has committed to raising wages to at least $15 for all state workers. I want to thank Sen. Walsh and Rep. Brady for their thoughtful work on this legislation, which will gradually raise our minimum wage and support working families across our state.”
Many of Delaware’s largest private employers are already providing starting or average wages of $15 an hour, including ChristianaCare, Walmart, Amazon and Target.
“Minimum wage increases will go right back into Delaware’s economy, helping build a widely shared recovery,” said Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. “Raising the minimum wage will boost the consumer spending that local businesses rely on. It will reduce the strain on the safety net caused by wages that people can’t live on and help level the playing field for businesses. And it will encourage the kind of fair pay, lower turnover, better customer service business model that will help small businesses survive and thrive.”
“I strongly support raising Delaware’s minimum wage to $15 by 2025,” said Courtney Sunborn, owner of Ecolistic Cleaning in Lewes. “I know from experience that paying livable wages is good business. We have very low turnover. It saves us a lot of time and money to retain employees who are already trained and deliver the great service that keeps our customers happy. And when people earn more as workers, they will spend more as customers, creating a virtuous cycle that will drive Delaware’s economy.”
SB 15 is slated to be heard in the Senate Labor Committee on March 17.
The legislation is being co-sponsored by all 14 Senate Democrats, as well as 18 Democrats in the Delaware House of Representatives.
“As Delaware faces the greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes, it is our lowest-paid workers who are being asked to put their own health at risk so people who can afford to work from home are able to buy groceries, and sleep at night knowing their most vulnerable family members are being cared for,” said Walsh, D-Stanton. “Our essential workers have stepped up for us in heroic fashion. Now we need to step up for them by making sure they are paid a fair and livable wage.”
Under Senate Bill 15, Delaware’s lowest base wage would increase to $10.50 per hour next year, followed by a $1.25 raise in 2023, a $1.50 raise in 2024 and a $1.75 raise in 2025.
Those gradual increases will help to lift hundreds of families out of poverty, bolster Delaware’s economy and keep local businesses competitive with surrounding states.
“A thriving middle class is the key to economic prosperity, but even the most basic financial stability is an impossibility for thousands of Delaware workers simply because the pay floor we have set is not keeping up with the cost of living,” said Gabe Morgan, vice president of the Service Employees International Union 32 BJ. “Make no mistake: all Delawareans are paying the cost of that short-sightedness through assistance programs that are increasingly subsidizing businesses that don’t pay their workers a living wage.”
Delaware’s current minimum wage of $9.25 an hour – set in 2019 – offers what is now a bare subsistence-level of pay for most low-wage workers, who are earning just $1,480 a month before taxes.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the average 2-bedroom apartment in Delaware now costs $1,142 a month, leaving minimum-wage earners with less than $84 a week for groceries, medicine, car insurance and other necessities.
Those impossibly tight margins help to explain why 13% of Delaware children live below the poverty line and 20% are unsure of where their next meal is coming from.
“Minimum wage increases will actually aid Delaware’s economy by helping to build a widely shared recovery,” said Rep. Gerald Brady, the lead sponsor of SB 15 in the House. “Raising the minimum wage will boost the consumer spending that local businesses rely on. It will reduce the strain on the safety net caused by wages that people can’t live on and help level the playing field for businesses. Additionally, the increases will encourage the kind of fair pay, lower turnover, better customer service business model that will help small businesses survive and thrive.”
Walsh added that the notion most minimum-wage earners are teenagers working their first job is a myth.
“The reality is most people earning minimum wage are adult women and people of color,” he said. “If you want true economic justice in this state, you need to start with the minimum wage.”
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 60% of minimum-wage earners in the United States are older than 25, nearly 60% are women, 51% are people of color and 25% are supporting children.
Delaware is also trailing behind its neighbors when it comes to base-level pay.
On May 1, Delaware’s current minimum wage will be lower than the base pay required in four out of five surrounding Mid-Atlantic states, including New York ($12.50), New Jersey ($12), Maryland ($11.75) and Virginia ($9.50).
Each of those states is already on track to reach a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2025. Other than Delaware, the only remaining hold out is Pennsylvania where workers are paid the same $7.25 as required under the federal minimum wage – a rate unchanged since 2009.
“Delawareans who go to work every day shouldn’t be living in poverty,” Governor John Carney said. “As an employer, the State of Delaware has committed to raising wages to at least $15 for all state workers. I want to thank Sen. Walsh and Rep. Brady for their thoughtful work on this legislation, which will gradually raise our minimum wage and support working families across our state.”
Many of Delaware’s largest private employers are already providing starting or average wages of $15 an hour, including ChristianaCare, Walmart, Amazon and Target.
“Minimum wage increases will go right back into Delaware’s economy, helping build a widely shared recovery,” said Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. “Raising the minimum wage will boost the consumer spending that local businesses rely on. It will reduce the strain on the safety net caused by wages that people can’t live on and help level the playing field for businesses. And it will encourage the kind of fair pay, lower turnover, better customer service business model that will help small businesses survive and thrive.”
“I strongly support raising Delaware’s minimum wage to $15 by 2025,” said Courtney Sunborn, owner of Ecolistic Cleaning in Lewes. “I know from experience that paying livable wages is good business. We have very low turnover. It saves us a lot of time and money to retain employees who are already trained and deliver the great service that keeps our customers happy. And when people earn more as workers, they will spend more as customers, creating a virtuous cycle that will drive Delaware’s economy.”
SB 15 is slated to be heard in the Senate Labor Committee on March 17.
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Press Contacts
Scott Goss
Communications Director
(302) 744-4180
scott.goss@delaware.gov
Dylan McDowell
Communications Assistant
(302) 744-4282
dylan.mcdowell@delaware.gov
Scott Goss
Communications Director
(302) 744-4180
scott.goss@delaware.gov
Dylan McDowell
Communications Assistant
(302) 744-4282
dylan.mcdowell@delaware.gov