Ex-Congressman Andy Levin joins Center for American Progress as fellow

Washington ― Former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin is joining the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, as a distinguished senior fellow, he said Tuesday.

Levin, 62, a Democrat from Bloomfield Township, will focus on issues at the intersection of economic growth and democratic accountability, according to the center.

"I’m going to really work on trying to make the economy more just for everybody, both at home and around the world," Levin told The Detroit News.

After two terms in the U.S. House, Levin left Capitol Hill in early January after losing the 11th District Democratic primary last year to his colleague, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, by 20 percentage points, in what was one of the most closely watched primary contests of the summer. 

At the Center for American Progress, Levin also will work on matters related to the implementation of major legislation passed by the Democratic-led Congress last term, such as the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to spur U.S. production of semiconductor chips.

"We put permissions in there, but there's a lot of room for the administration to act ― how much will they really make sure the jobs (created) are good jobs or union jobs, and that there's protections for workers, for health and safety, for organizing rights?" Levin said.

"And will we really have the training we need to get the workers for all these new kinds of jobs, and will the opportunities for training be available to workers who've too often been excluded? ... I'll be working a lot on those things."

Levin noted he won't be lobbying Congress or the administration, per ethics rules that apply to former members.

"But there's no barriers on Congress people, once they leave, on working and talking to the administration and saying, 'Hey, we have some ideas. What about this?' I'm very, very excited about that," he said.

The Center for American Progress was founded by John Podesta, who served as an adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and most recently Joe Biden on clean energy innovation.

“Thanks to the passage of President Joe Biden’s economic legislation, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform many of the communities that have been left behind over the past half century, making things at home again, fixing outdated infrastructure, and connecting workers with jobs," Patrick Gaspard, the center's president and CEO, said in a statement.

"Rep. Levin has dedicated his career to doing exactly this type of work, both in his home state of Michigan and in the U.S. Congress."

Levin, an attorney and former union organizer, has been floated as a potential contender for a post in the Biden administration, such as U.S. ambassador to Haiti or joining the cabinet as labor secretary, with the impending departure of Marty Walsh. Levin declined to comment on whether he's in talks with the White House about either job.

"I’ve talked to the Biden administration about a few things," Levin told The Detroit News. "I’m a huge supporter of the president and if he calls me to serve in a way that makes sense, obviously I want to support him in any way I can."

Biden on Tuesday nominated Julie Su to serve as labor secretary. She has been the department's deputy secretary since July 2021.

Levin learned to speak Haitian Creole while organizing Haitian nursing home workers for SEIU after college and later served as an observer during the nation's presidential elections in 1987 after end of the Duvalier regime. He spent the summer of 1992 in Haiti as a researcher for Human Rights Watch and in Congress founded the first House Haiti Caucus in years.

Levin said he's also consulting on several projects related to workers' rights, organizing, bargaining "and the intersection of those things." He referenced the boom in interest in unionization, with a surge in formal requests by workers to form a union but noted that in many cases they don't get a contract with their employer, offering Starbucks as an example.

"It's an incredible time for workers," he said. "You just haven't seen a moment like this in my adult lifetime where workers are so dissatisfied and in motion and wanting to form their own organizations."

mburke@detroitnews.com