Remembering Dr. Bill Spriggs

by Sherrod Brown

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great economist, a trailblazer, and a friend of mine: Dr. Bill Spriggs.

Bill was born here in Washington, DC, to a professor and a schoolteacher. He shared his parents' love of learning and went on to attend Williams College for his undergraduate degree and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his PhD in economics. Bill began his career in academia and brought a new lens to economic policy: calling attention to the role of race in our economy.

Over the years, Bill mentored thousands of students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, Norfolk State University, and Howard University. Bill was committed to lifting up all voices in his classroom and helping all students, especially people of color, advance in a field dominated by White men. As Assistant Secretary of Labor during the Obama administration, Bill worked on a number of issues from trade to minimum wage, to racial disparities in the labor market. Bill then transitioned to be chief economist at the AFL-CIO, where he was a frequent and outspoken advocate for workers, in particular Black workers. Over his career of service, Bill's advocacy and policy expertise made a difference for so many. It is simple: Workers are better off because of Bill.

And his impact extends far beyond the impressive roles he held; at every step of his career, Bill challenged his colleagues to consider how systemic racism in our economy hurts working families of color. In the summer of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Bill published a powerful open letter to his fellow economists where he criticized the field's approach to race as a factor in the economy. He called on economists to reflect on and rethink how they study race. And he asked that they commit to creating policies that uplift workers of color and their families. The letter served as a starting point for discussion about the Fed's role in economic inequality.

His work shaped the national conversation. He found that Black workers were disproportionately hurt by import shocks to the economy, like NAFTA and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. His work reminded us that just as we were starting to create more jobs that support the middle class like manufacturing and make them more open to Black workers, our country's trade policy enabled the shipment of those jobs overseas. The work that we have to do now to rebuild our country with a real pro-American pro-worker industrial strategy that is finally inclusive to all stands on his shoulders. It is up to all of us to continue that conversation and uphold Bill's legacy.

On a personal note, I had the privilege of working with Bill a number of times over the years. He testified before the Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at least four times since I took over as the lead Democrat. Each time, Bill testified about policies that would help workers. He offered his support for COVID relief packages to get families through the pandemic. And he stood up for communities and people that have been overlooked by economic policy for far too long.

Bill offered thoughtful counsel; he took time to talk to my staff and share his expertise. He was kind, thoughtful, and a brilliant economist. Bill understood that worker rights are intertwined with civil rights. And above all, he was committed to fighting for the dignity of work; he and I shared a goal that, one day, hard work will pay off for everyone no matter who you are or what you do.

May we all follow Bill's example to dedicate our lives to service, to push toward that goal until every worker can count on the dignity of work.

Our thoughts are with the Spriggs' family and with all those who knew and loved Bill.