DALLAS, Tex.—After the Dallas City Council voted 8-7 to approve the appointment of Nirav Sanghani to
the city Civil Service Board, Councilmember Lee Kleinman was irate. The Dallas AFL-CIO had lobbied for Sanghani, 32, as an organizer with the Board of Texas New Era/Jobs with Justice community-labor coalition, saying that he would bring a working-class voice to the board, which oversees employment issues. “They’re dropping an AFL-CIO operative onto our Civil Service Board,” Kleinman told the Dallas Morning News. “I hate organized labor. They’ve done more to damage this country than many other things.” Sanghani has not been an AFL-CIO employee, but has worked with the federation in his role as an organizer. Dallas AFL-CIO Council secretary-treasurer Mark York called him a “really a brilliant young man with a level head who has the ability to really see through problematic areas” and “a perfect fit for that board.” Kleinman also contended that Sanghani, who moved to Dallas last September, is not a legal resident of the city, because he still has an Illinois driver’s license. The city secretary’s office responded Mar. 26 that he met the qualifications. Read more
