CT paving company workers fly confederate flag from equipment on Mass. highway; DOT orders it removed

A Bloomfield-based paving company based was repairing a highway in Massachusetts when its employees allegedly found a confederate flag in the road and hung it from their equipment, a company official said.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation ordered the company to remove the flag before the company’s work could continue.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc., was subcontracted to do work on an interstate paving project on Route 2 in Fitchburg, Mass. when employees hung the flag from a piece of their equipment Sunday night, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the owner of the asphalt company.

Billy Garrity said Tuesday that workers employed by Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc., which employs about 60 workers, according to its website, found the confederate flag on the side of the road while they were working.

“In a lapse of judgment, they put it on the machine,” said Garrity.

Once management at the company learned about the flag, workers were told to take it down.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation also told the company that they would not be allowed to continue working on the project until the flag was taken down.

“MassDOT prohibits the display of the confederate flag and similar paraphernalia and has informed the contractor that they will not be allowed to perform further work until steps are taken to remove the flag,” the DOT said in a statement.

The flag was removed by Monday morning, Garrity said.

“Garrity Asphalt is committed to establishing a safe and welcoming workplace by eliminating graffiti, vandalism and defacement of property. This includes the posting or display of anything controversial or political,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Haley Hills, a criminal and family attorney in Massachusetts, was driving on Route 2 on her way home from playing hockey in Revere when she and a friend spotted the flag hanging off the asphalt miller. The flag, she said in a statement, was lit up by spotlights at the work site and was in view of several workers.

Hills said she circled around to confirm what she saw and captured video footage of the flag waving from the equipment just after 9 p.m. Sunday.

“This was disgusting to see on a state funded project,” Hills said in an email.

According to its website, Garrity Asphalt has been in business for about 35 years and uses a variety of equipment to perform jobs that include reclaiming, cold planing and snow plowing operations throughout New England and New York.

The company did not comment directly on the confederate flag, but decried any “political or controversial” postings connected to the company.

“Posting anything political or controversial goes against company policy and appropriate action has been taken with the employee,” the statement said. “We have discussed this issue at previous startup meetings and will be vigilant about this going forward,”

Garrity Asphalt has been contracted for roadwork in Connecticut with the  Connecticut Department of Transportation. The CT DOT declined to comment further on the matter.