Business-Labor Council

The Delaware Business Labor Council -- Using Delaware’s expertise on jobs and the economy

As Governor, John will create the Delaware Business Labor Council. The Council, which will be charged with meeting and reporting to the Governor monthly, will advise him about jobs, trends, issues and opportunities in Delaware’s economy.

This is a new way of doing business here in Delaware, a way that will allow us to tap into the experience and expertise of Delawareans in order to create jobs and economic opportunity for all our citizens. And it’s a way to bring business and labor leaders together to solve problems and identify opportunities that will make Delaware’s economy stronger and more equipped to respond to the emerging 21st-century economy.

Bringing people together to solve problems is something John has always strived to do and it will be a hallmark of his administration. It is imperative that we work together on issues as important as jobs and our economy.

As we face future economic challenges, information, innovation, ideas and energy will be the keys to meeting those challenges and keeping Delaware moving forward. As Governor, John is prepared to provide the energy. As he has said before, the challenges we face and will continue to face demand a Governor that is involved, engaged and energetic.

This Council will keep us ahead of the curve, whether it means taking advantage of a growing trend, addressing a problem as early as possible or coordinating efforts to seize an opportunity.

Here are the basic elements:

• The Council will be co-chaired by a leader in the business community, such as the president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and a labor leader, such as the president of the Delaware AFL-CIO. They are in a great position to create an environment where cooperation and coordination lead to innovation and new ideas.
  
• The Council will meet and report to the Governor monthly. Our economy changes quickly and issues and opportunities must be addressed quickly. This monthly report will enable us to do that in a very real and proactive way.
  
• The Council will be staffed and funded by the Delaware Economic Development Office. The work of this committee is a priority for John and he will give it the staff and funding it needs to do its work effectively.

While we enjoy good labor-management relations in Delaware, we should use those relationships and the combined expertise more frequently and put them to work for the people of Delaware.

These are influential, experienced organizations that have produced great results when they work together. Workers Comp reform is the most recent example of that collaboration. Workers Comp reform is a great example of people on all sides of an issue coming together. In this case, they all saw something that was a significant impediment to businesses already located in Delaware and others considering a move to Delaware.

Identifying and solving issues like that is one thing the Council would be expected to do, but that’s not all.

The Council will also be expected to identify new opportunities for Delaware that require immediate attention as well as developing longer-term initiatives that will strengthen Delaware’s position.

We need to address the needs of our hard-working citizens. We need know what our business leaders are seeing in our high school and college graduates and whether we are producing a high-quality workforce.

We need to maximize our efforts to re-train laid off workers for existing jobs in Delaware. And we need to know as early as possible where there is going to be a need for new workers.

Health care is a major issue for employers and employees. The experiences and knowledge of business and labor leaders has to be factored into our work on health care. Identifying the most effective ways to address issues like health care requires input from all stakeholders.

Our Department of Labor and our Economic Development Office already collect key information on all these issues. But creating and maintaining a cooperative environment that produces invaluable real world, real time information will enable us to understand that information even more completely.

Bringing people together to solve problems will be a hallmark of John’s administration. As Governor, he will never be satisfied with our current economic state, no matter how good. John will make sure we’re working hard to keep every job we have and recruit every new job we can.