Pete Buttigieg Complains About Too Many White Construction Workers

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Hannah Knudsen

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday opted to suggest that there are too many white people working in construction, choosing to make these remarks less than two weeks after the toxic chemical train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania line.

Speaking at the National Association of Counties Conference Monday, Buttigieg chose to urge attendees to “really work with organized labor, to work with your contractors, to work with your community colleges on holding a workforce that reflects the community.”

“We have heard way too many stories from generations past of infrastructure where you got a neighborhood — often a neighborhood of color that finally sees the project come to them — but everyone in the hard hats on that project looking like, you know, doing the good paying jobs, [they] don’t look like they came from anywhere near the neighborhood,” he said, essentially suggesting that that there are too many white construction workers. 

“You can build community wealth that will help close wealth gaps in this country if we can tear down those barriers, but that happens at the delivery level,” he added:

Buttigieg’s remarks come well over a week after the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in Ohio, which forced residents of East Palestine to temporarily evacuate. While they were given the all-clear days later, data released this week found that the incident involved more toxic chemicals than initially known, at least publicly.

As Breitbart News reported:

Among the substances were ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene also in the rail cars that were derailed, the NBC News list shows.

Contact with ethylhexyl acrylate, a carcinogen, can cause burning and irritation of the skin and eyes, and inhalation can irritate the nose and throat, causing shortness of breath and coughing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Monday evening it has not yet detected any concerning levels of toxins in the air quality that can be attributed to the crash since the controlled burn was complete.

Buttigieg released a statement on the incident Monday evening, assuring the public that he is “concerned” while vaguely promising to investigate and hold those responsible accountable:

WATCH: Massive Inferno, Threat of “Catastrophic” Explosion After ~50-Car Train Derailment:

Eric Whiting/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.