A panel looking for ways to revitalize Delaware’s economy is looking for suggestions from the public.
The state’s Blue Collar Jobs Task Force, a group of government, business and labor leaders, has been holding a series of meetings. Sen. Robert I. Marshall, D-Wilmington West, said it is now time to hear from the public.
“We know this is a very real problem that’s causing a lot of pain for hard-working Delawareans,” said Marshall, the task force’s co-chairman. “And we also know that people may have some very good, inventive solutions to the problem. That’s why we want the public to come out and join with us in finding answers.”
A meeting Monday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Chase Center on the Riverfront is the first in a series of four public hearings. The task force will report to the Markell Administration and General Assembly on the issue by January.
Rep. Michael Mulrooney, the other co-chair of the task force, agrees that getting the sector back on track is a priority.
“In recent years, blue collar jobs have taken a huge hit, which has left thousands of Delaware families struggling,” said Mulrooney, D-Pennwood, who chairs the House Labor Committee. “We need to find ways to bring more blue collar jobs to Delaware and help rebuild our middle class. A strong, healthy middle class will drive our economy, and that’s something everyone should be able to get behind.”
An earlier blue collar jobs task force helped lead to the creation of Delaware’s Blue Collar Jobs Tax Credit program. Blue collar employment remains a weak spot in the economy, due to the loss of the state’s auto plants and slow conditions in construction.
“This approach – of bringing together some of our brightest minds, and mixing in the good common sense of Delawareans–has worked before,” he said. “I hope we can build on that tradition and come up with new ways to create an even more robust blue collar sector going down the road.”
