William Spriggs, 1955-2023

William Spriggs, who joined the NBER board as the representative of the AFL-CIO in 2014, passed away earlier this week. He was a distinguished labor economist whose research shed light on issues of equity in the labor market and in society more generally. He was a professor in, and former chair of, the Department of Economics at Howard University. Early in his career, Bill also taught at North Carolina A&T State University, and Norfolk State University.

Bill was an active participant in the public policy process. He was the Chief Economist at the AFL-CIO, and he chaired the Economic Policy Working Group at the OECD's Trade Union Advisory Committee. Between 2009 and 2012, he served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy at the US Department of Labor.

Bill received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He was the former president of the National Economic Association. His many honors included the National Academy of Social Insurance Robert M. Ball Award and the NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Keeper of the Flame Award.