William Spriggs

In June 2020, Spriggs released an open letter to economists in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests. In his letter, Spriggs called on economists to recognize the racist roots of most explorations of racial disparities in economics. He argued that models of disparities between White and Black Americans based on differences in human capital accumulation frequently recognize the existence of racist discrimination in schooling and housing, but then assume this same discrimination does not exist in employment relationships. Spriggs discusses how models of statistical discrimination in economic outcomes between races assume away history, laws, and social norms, and even the way that racial categories are themselves the product of this history. In addition, he argued that models of disparities that assume inherent African American inferiority are a constant microaggression for African American economists and expressed frustration that many White economists are ignorant of work done by Black economists on these same topics. Spriggs calls on economists who use race in their work to better understand the ways that history and policy have shaped racial categories and focus on studying big questions about the institutions that shape economic outcomes. The letter received a great deal of media coverage, with Spriggs invited to lengthy interviews by multiple major publications.

In 2012, Spriggs returned to his role as professor of economics at Howard University. He also accepted the position of chief economist for the AFL-CIO; through this role, he joined the board of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

The Obama administration nominated Spriggs for the position of assistant secretary of policy in the Department of Labor in June 2009. Spriggs was easily approved by a voice vote of the full Senate on October 21, 2009. As the secretary of policy, Spriggs continued to argue for organized labor and increased support for the middle class. He represented America at the G-20 Labor Ministerial meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico and headed the U.S. delegation to the 101st International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization in Switzerland.

Spriggs is a longtime supporter of Barack Obama, both during the latter's bid for presidency and after while serving on the 2008 Obama-Biden transition team. He specifically endorsed then presidential-nominee Obama's plan to focus on the alternative energy sector for new jobs. He also, along with dozens of other economists, endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act in early-2009. While the bill passed the House, it stalled in the Senate.

Spriggs left the Clinton administration in 1998 to join the Institute for Opportunity and Equality League as its executive director and advocate for research, advocacy and progressive public policy. He stayed for six years, working with fellow civil rights activists Maya Rockeymoore, Cheryl Hill Lee, Valerie Wilson, Hugh Price, Dorothy Height, Joseph Lowery, Norman Hill, and Bill Lucy. Spriggs later returned to the Economic Policy Institute before joining Howard University in 2005 as the chair of the economics department. He concurrently served as a senior fellow for the Community Service Society of New York and board chair of the UAW Retirees of the Dana Corp, Healthcare Trust for UAW Retirees of Ford Motor Company, and board member of the Retirement Healthcare Administration Corporation.

Spriggs left academia for some time to pursue research and advocacy, beginning with the Economic Policy Institute. There, he studied industrial relations, labor history, and the replacement of striking workers. Spriggs left the EPI in 1993 to join the Clinton administration as the director designate of the National Commission for Employment Policy. He advised politicians on training, education, reemployment, and the financing and development of HBCU. He also led the National Wage Record Database Design Project Report from 1993 to 1994.

After high school, Spriggs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Williams College. He continued onto graduate school on a National Science Foundation Minority Graduate Fellowship. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned his Master of Arts (1979) and PhD (1984), both in economics. His doctoral dissertation focused on the accumulation of wealth by African Americans in Virginia between 1900 and 1914. He earned the National Economic Association's 1985 dissertation prize for his work. During this time, he also served as a co-president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 3220.

William Edward Spriggs (born 1955) is an American economist who worked as chair of the Howard University Department of Economics from 2005 to 2009 and assistant secretary of labor for policy from 2009 to 2012. He is also a professor of economics at Howard University and chief economist for the AFL-CIO.