Blind Postal Employee Overcomes Visual Challenges

Richard Watkins with the Postal Service’s Office of Corporate Communications and Laura Dvorak share the story of Frank Facio, a blind Southern California Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS) operator, on USPS's Your Postal Podcast.

According to the piece, Frank, 53, learned when he was a teenager that he had Retinitis Pigmentosa, and that with time he would lose his sight completely. He was hired by the Postal Service in 1982 as a letter sorting machine operator in Phoenix.

Frank is quoted as saying after he went completely blind, "I got a call from one of the union stewards in Arizona named Roger. He called me and asked me to come down to the Post Office to see what kind of work we can find for me back out on the workroom floor. So one of the first things he took me to was the
Laura says,"It took demonstration and persuasion on Frank’s part to convince others he could operate the DBCS efficiently. The Post Office had many concerns about Frank operating the machine and working on the workroom floor."

He was able to modify the DBCS by applying Braille to the stackers and to the bread racks. And also marking down a place near there to put various equipment for dispatching to allow him to take the full trays from the machine to the equipment.

"When Frank isn’t at work, some of his favorite activities are playing beeper baseball, playing base guitar with his country band, reading, and going to the movies," according to Laura. 
Franks says if you or someone you know is sight-impaired, he'd like to talk with you or them. You can e-mail him at frank@independentrights.com.

Shown above, Frank Facio operateing a Delivery Bar Code Sorter

To listen to Frank and the entire Podcast (as well as an original piece from Frank's band), click here.