All Over Albany

A feel for the factory

Tucked away on the second floor of an old building on Washington Ave in Albany is a multi-million dollar manufacturing facility. It's a large room with three rows of work stations where employees diligently sew, iron, and attach buttons to bright orange protective vests. Some
wear headphones as they work and a few banter back and forth as the day moves along.

Each year this factory turns out as many as 50,000 reflective vests for the MTA and Long Island Railroad.  In addition, it has a contract with the federal government to make all the neck tabs for women's military uniforms.  And it also makes clean room suits for labs, as
well as a handful of other products.

All this looks like any other manufacturer, at first glance.  But watch for a moment and you'll notice something you're unlikely to see in most other factories: more than half of the people working on the floor are blind or visually impaired.

The factory is owned by NABA, the Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany.  The organization has been around since 1908, and the manufacturing department -- just one of the many branches of NABA -- was created in 1914. It started as workshop for blind and visually impaired individuals. It's since turned into a results-driven, well-oiled machine.

NABA has 46 people working at the factory.  Two of its best sewers are completely blind. Diane has been there for 8 1/2 years, Charlotte has been there for 35.   They do some of the most complicated work in the factory -- binding the vests.  They don't miss a beat as I ask them questions.  They guide the safety vests' curves through the sewing machine with an accuracy most sighted people couldn't match.

Many of their co-workers, some of whom have limited vision (like the ability to see shadows and colors), use tools to assist them during their daily tasks.  A product called a CTV magnifies anything that is put under it, and many signs are created in bright, bold colors.

The factory's setup also helps keep the process running smoothly.  A group of RPI students engineered systems to aid the workers and help prevent injury. They also designed a series of boards with hinges that help workers uniformly fold a jumpsuit the factory was producing for the U.S. Navy.

You can't help but notice that everyone there seems very happy with their job. Manufacturing director John Laven, who's been running for the factory for five years, says the happiness comes from independence. Jobs are important for everyone, but in a society that doesn't always cater to blind people, this job can mean more.

"This work crew wants to be here. They want to come to work and they're not just here for the money; they really want to be here and want to be productive."

Lavin puts blind and visually-impaired workers in leadership positions and expects results from his team. He says most of them are cross-trained so they can move from one project to the next with ease. Factory employees are paid minimum wage or higher, and have access to the same benefits as the management.

Chris Burke, NABA's executive director, says keeping work coming in for the factory can be tough.  Next year the MTA is bringing in vests from China.  NABA's factory will do finishing work on those vests, but it will mean big changes in their contract with the MTA. Currently the MTA work is earning about $250,000 a year for NABA's rehabilitation programs. Next year, the earnings from the MTA work will drop to $30,000.

"We need to keep the contract," says Burke, "So we'll do it, and try to make up the shortfall by finding other clients.  We're always looking for new opportunities and partners. We're always looking for new products we can make. We're always looking for ways to keep working."

Update: The information in the post above was what we were told. That info was confirmed in a second conversation. We spoke with Chris Burke this morning and explained that he misspoke. Of course, we always welcome clarifications.