Editorial: The debate over right-to-work

The Feb. 25 special election for the 10th District state senate seat carries with it the potential for significant political change in Delaware.

With a victory by their candidate, John Marino, Republicans would gain control of the senate for the first time in more than four decades.

As expected, Marino and the Democratic candidate, Stephanie Hansen, have opposing views on myriad issues.

Among those issues is one that has generated impassioned debate around the country: Right-to-work.

Marino favors it. Hansen opposes it.

That jives with the national trend. In the presidential election, 24 of the 26 current RTW states voted for Donald Trump, according to a report from Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. Two states that are slated to enact RTW laws this year, Missouri and Kentucky, also voted for Trump.

By definition, right-to-work laws allow people to get the benefits of union membership without being compelled to pay union dues.

There is plenty of conjecture to support the pros and cons of right-to-work.

Opponents say workers in RTW states earn some 3 percent less than those elsewhere. Proponents say the data shows otherwise. They also say RTW laws help attract business and grow the economy.

Opponents say that theory has yet to bear fruit.

While RTW laws are nowhere to be found among Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, the debate is heating up in Pennsylvania, whose legislature is controlled by the GOP. Twelve percent of the state’s 5.7 million workers are union members.

According to 2016 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11.4 percent of Delaware workers belong to unions. That’s 48,000 of 419,000 total workers and represents a 2 percent jump in union membership from 2015.

That 11.4 percent is just above the national percentage of workers in unions. In 1983, the national percentage stood at 20.1.

While union membership in Delaware is not as large as it was when the state had two auto plants, it still represents a significant portion of our workforce.

If RTW ever does become a topic of serious consideration in the General Assembly, it is sure to spur intense debate.

We hope such debate would be thoughtful and comprehensive, for right-to-work, whether statewide or in zones, would represent a significant shift for Delaware.