President Obama has announced he intends to nominate Dr. William E. Spriggs, chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University, as Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Labor. Last fall Dr. Spriggs served on the Agency Review Team for the Department of Labor for the presidential transition team.

A noted economist, Spriggs co-authored along with Dr. Steven Pitts, “Beyond the Mountaintop: King’s Prescription for Poverty,” for the Rosenberg Foundation to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to his duties at Howard University, Dr. Spriggs has been involved with several key organizations. Last year he served on the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights. Over the last two years he has served as a Senior Fellow in Public Policy for the Community Service Society of New York and has coordinated its monthly “Working for Change,” forum focused on young adult workers and their families. In the summer of 2006, Dr. Spriggs became the chair of the Independent Health Care Trust for United Auto Workers retirees of Ford Motor Company, and is on the board of the Retiree Health Administration Corporation, which oversees the health care trusts of UAW retirees of Ford and General Motors.

Dr. Spriggs also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute. From 1993 to 1994, he served on the staff of the National Commission for Employment Policy, and served in various capacities in the Clinton administration. He also worked on the government’s response to the Adarand decision and helped craft guidelines for the federal Small Disadvantage Business program. He served as a senior economist for the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress from 1994 to 1997, where, among other things, he worked on the passage of the increase in the minimum wage and to prevent legislative efforts to roll back affirmative action in federal procurement.