U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell on Trade, Social Security and Workers

U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan's 6th Congressional District, co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast as part of the Labor 132 series presented by the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office.

Dingell discussed the Labor Caucus's growth to 129 members and why she spends as much time as possible in union halls and on work sites listening to what workers are actually worried about. She also addressed the failure of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to create a genuinely level playing field with Mexico, the threat posed by Chinese vehicle imports and autonomous vehicles collecting data on American streets, as well as the chaotic application of tariffs. She concluded by discussing the need to scrap the Social Security earnings cap before the 2033 funding cliff and her role as a lead House sponsor of Medicare for All.

Dingell also shared the story of her father-in-law, John Dingell Sr., who was fired for union activity, contracted tuberculosis, was sent west to die and came back to Detroit to serve in Congress and help write the Social Security Act — standing in the room when Franklin Roosevelt signed it in 1935.

• The Congressional Labor Caucus has grown to 129 members under the co-leadership of Dingell, Mark Pocan (Wisc.-2nd), Donald Norcross (N.J.-1st) and Steven Horsford (Nev.-4th). Each brings a different labor perspective. Dingell said the caucus exists to identify the issues that matter to working men and women and educate colleagues about them. She encouraged every member of Congress to spend time in union halls and on work sites listening to workers rather than relying on 30-second videos. She cited her own presence at UAW Local 900's picnic, UAW Local 600's golf outing, an IBEW event and an AFL-CIO unity event in the same week.
• On trade, Dingell said USMCA has not delivered a genuinely level playing field with Mexico, where wages remain far lower, true unions are still not freely operating and environmental and workplace standards are not being meaningfully enforced. She also introduced legislation with U.S. Rep John Moolenaar, the China Committee Chair, to block Chinese vehicles from entering the United States, citing China's more than 50 percent product subsidies, currency manipulation, use of forced labor and pattern of destroying domestic industries in countries it enters before raising prices. She also raised the specific threat posed by Chinese autonomous vehicles currently testing on American streets and collecting data, while China blocks American vehicles from testing there.
• Dingell believes scrapping the earnings cap on Social Security contributions is the most important single step available to secure the program's solvency without cutting benefits. She is hopeful it will be among the first actions taken if Democrats win control of the House in November. She is also a lead House sponsor of Medicare for All, noting the program now has more than 100 co-sponsors. Emergency rooms across her district are seeing sicker patients presenting with uncompensated care, yet the United States spends twice as much on healthcare as any other industrialized nation while producing worse outcomes.

A Family That Has Stood With Workers for Generations

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell's connection to the labor movement runs through her family. Her husband, John Dingell Jr., served in the U.S. Congress for 60 years, longer than any other member in the nation's history. Before him, his father, John Dingell Sr., represented Michigan in the House and was a central figure in the New Deal labor legislation of the 1930s. Most significantly, John Dingell Sr. was one of the authors of Social Security. When President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, Dingell Sr. was standing in the room.

Before he got there, he was fired from his job as a union printer in Detroit for union activity. He contracted tuberculosis. In an era before effective treatment existed, he was sent west to Colorado to die. He did not, however. He came back to Detroit and won a congressional seat. Dingell told the story with the pride of someone who understands that the rights workers have today were won by people who paid a real price for them.

How the Labor Caucus Works and Why It Matters

Dingell co-chairs the Congressional Labor Caucus alongside Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Don Norcross of New Jersey — himself a union member — and Steve Horsford of Nevada. Together, they represent a range of labor perspectives and geographies. The caucus has grown to 129 members in the current session of Congress. Its purpose is to identify the issues that matter to working men and women, educate colleagues about them and build the votes needed to move a labor agenda.

Dingell said the most important thing she does for the caucus is also the most basic: she goes where union workers are. In the week before the interview, she was at UAW Local 900's picnic and carnival, Local 600's golf outing, an IBEW event and an AFL-CIO unity gathering. She goes to listen. She said every member of Congress needs to be doing the same so they don’t rely on 30-second videos and social media posts. Showing up in person to hear what workers are actually worried about is more effective.

She recalled being yelled at by the entire Democratic establishment for warning that Hillary Clinton was in trouble in Michigan. She heard firsthand that Michigan union workers did not believe she understood their issues or cared about their jobs. The warning was accurate. Workers had watched manufacturing jobs leave under trade deals that Democrats helped write, and Donald Trump was talking about NAFTA. Dingell said Democrats have to earn the trust of workers by showing up, listening and delivering; not by assuming it.

USMCA, Mexico and a Playing Field That Is Still Not Level

Dingell has strong feelings about U.S. trade agreements with our neighbors. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was supposed to replace the worst elements of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), including its enforceable standards. It has not been fully delivered. Mexico still does not allow genuine union organizing and collective bargaining to function freely. Environmental and workplace standards that were written into the agreement are not being enforced. And when USMCA was negotiated, American original equipment manufacturers deliberately directed suppliers to locate production in Mexico, where wages remain far lower, and operating costs are far cheaper.

Canada is a different story. Canada has strong unions, meaningful environmental standards and workplace requirements, Dingell said. The level of competition with Canada is substantially fairer. The new Ambassador Bridge connecting Michigan and Canada — which Canada paid for — is an example of what genuine partnership looks like. Auto parts cross that bridge seven or eight times during the assembly of a vehicle. Recent chaos introduced into that relationship hurts workers on both sides, she said.

The agreement needs to be renegotiated to keep jobs in the United States and to hold Mexico to genuinely equivalent standards. Dingell said that is where her focus is.

Chinese Vehicles and the Data Threat

Dingell introduced legislation with Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the China Committee, to block Chinese vehicles from entering the United States. The reasons go beyond trade policy. China subsidizes its vehicles by more than 50 percent, manipulates its currency and uses forced labor in production. That is not a level playing field by any definition, she said. And China has a documented pattern of entering foreign markets, undercutting domestic industries until they cannot compete and then raising prices once the competition is gone.

But Dingell raised a concern that goes beyond economics. Chinese autonomous vehicles are currently testing on American streets. China does not allow American vehicles to be tested in China. Chinese autonomous vehicles are collecting data on traffic patterns, infrastructure, the locations of military installations, and the contents of the devices carried by people inside them. She believes that data is being collected by a foreign government and used against American interests. Dingell said it is unacceptable, and the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, which she has been working on for multiple sessions of Congress, is designed to address it. The bill is in the Energy and Commerce Committee, and she said she is hopeful for movement.

Tariffs: A Tool, Not a Chaos Machine

Dingell stressed she is not anti-tariff. Tariffs are a legitimate tool in trade policy, she said, and China is the kind of trading partner for which they need to be used to offset subsidies, currency manipulation, and labor cost advantages that have nothing to do with genuine productivity. The problem is not the concept. The problem is the execution, she said.

According to the state-by-state fact sheets released by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee-Minority in July 2026 and updated on Aug. 28, the Trump administration's chaotic, unpredictable and untargeted application of tariffs has increased the cost of goods for average American households by more than $3,500. Tariffs used strategically to protect specific industries and level specific playing fields are one thing. Tariffs applied randomly as a political lever are another, Dingell said, adding that the distinction matters and workers are paying the price for the confusion.

Social Security and the 2033 Cliff

John Dingell Sr. helped write the legislation that created Social Security in 1935. His daughter-in-law is now fighting to preserve it. The most straightforward available solution to the 2033 funding cliff — when the Social Security trust fund is projected to be unable to pay full benefits, resulting in an approximately 22 percent across-the-board cut — is scrapping the earnings cap, she said. Workers stop paying Social Security payroll taxes once their income exceeds the current threshold. High earners pay into the system for only part of the year. Everyone else pays on every paycheck. Lifting the cap would generate the revenue needed to maintain solvency without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age.

Dingell said she is hopeful that if Democrats win majority control of the U.S. House in November, lifting the cap will be among the first legislative actions taken. People have earned their Social Security. They have a right to retire with security and dignity. That was true in 1935, and it is true now, she said.

Medicare for All: One of the House Leads

Dingell is also one of the lead House sponsors of Medicare for All. The bill now has more than 100 co-sponsors. Emergency rooms across her district are seeing patients who are sicker when they arrive because they delayed care they could not afford. That uncompensated care is passed on to everyone with insurance, she said. The United States spends twice as much on healthcare per capita as any other industrialized nation and produces worse outcomes. Every other major economy guarantees its citizens healthcare. American companies compete in a global marketplace where their foreign competitors do not carry healthcare costs as part of their operating expenses. Something, she said, is fundamentally wrong with that picture.

Labor Day at 132: “We Hear You, and We Are Not Stopping”

Dingell's Labor Day message to workers was direct. She said she knows they are hurting. She knows they are worried about job security, about whether their kids will find work, about food prices, gas prices, housing costs and a healthcare system that does not work for them. She said she hears it every day. And she promised not to stop fighting for the working men and women of this country.

More information is available at debbiedingell.house.gov and laborcaucus.house.gov.

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