Statement from Senate Majority leadership, Labor Committee members on proposed "right-to-work" ordinance

DOVER - Five Democratic senators comprising the Senate Majority Caucus' leadership and members of the Senate Labor Committee (President Pro Tempore David B. McBride; Senate Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry; Senate Majority Whip Nicole Poore; Senate Labor Committee Chair Robert Marshall; and Sen. John "Jack" Walsh) released the following statement on a proposed "right-to-work" ordinance in Sussex County that would undermine collective bargaining:

“Putting aside the unresolved question of whether a county even has the constitutional authority to enact this ordinance, the reality is that ‘right-to-work’ is a misnomer for corporate welfare peddled by think tanks and bankrolled by the Koch brothers. Even after being enacted in 28 states, there is still no sound statistical or economic evidence that so-called right-to-work laws do anything to improve economic growth or job opportunity. But there is evidence that these laws reduce wages by about 3 percent and reduce the availability of pensions by almost 5 percent.

Economic growth comes from good schools, healthy infrastructure, innovation, investment in our workforce, and good wages—not from undermining workers and their right to collective bargaining. But don’t take our word for it: just look at Delaware’s private sector wages, which grew faster than any other state’s last year​. We didn’t get there by hurting the people who make up the backbone of our economy, and we shouldn’t join the states that are trying.”​