Slamming ‘Sgt. Schultz’
Union prez blasts Baker, Pollack for know-nothing stances in RMV scandal
Gov. Charlie Baker and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack are being called “Sgt. Schultz” for claiming ignorance of the deadly record-keeping crisis at the Registry of Motor Vehicles by a union president who also slammed them for naming rank-andfile RMV employees.
“This whole situation reminds me of the TV series Hogan’s Heroes with both Governor Baker and DOT Secretary Pollack playing the part of Sergeant Schultz, who famously continued to say, ‘I know nothing!’ ” said David Holway, president of the National Association of Government Employees. “The real question is, how could it be possible that they both knew ‘nothing?’ ”
Both Pollack and Baker have said publicly that they had no prior awareness of the decades-long practice of ignoring paper notifications from other states, but lawmakers conducting their own probe have raised doubts about that claim.
The 60-page Grant Thornton preliminary report, by the auditing firm hired by the state to investigate the records scandal at the Registry, shows multiple employees knew about unprocessed license convictions and did nothing about them. It specifically names one employee and his supervisor.
Holway, the national head of the union, characterized naming the lower-level employees in the report as “mind boggling and truly unconscionable.” He argued that Baker and Pollack have an “obligation” to provide state employees with the tools to perform their jobs, but they “failed.”
“I hope that Grant Thornton LLP are not on a mission to contain the political fallout as a result of these tragic deaths by trying to shift the blame to two fine public servants,” Holway said.
A Baker spokeswoman said the initial report will be expanded upon in the next month and the administration “looks forward to the final review to help identify more accountability and system wide improvements.”
MassDOT declined to comment on the union’s criticism Monday.