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NEWS | March 9, 2023

Learning to communicate: Bi-monthly ASL Lunch-&-Learn sessions have become an important resource for deaf employees at the shipyard

By Ben Hutto, PSNS & IMF Public Affairs

When Marlene Bell was hired as a full-time American Sign Language interpreter for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Facility in the spring of 2019, she estimates that there were only a handful of deaf employees working for the command.

Back then, there was no specialized equipment to help hard of hearing and deaf workers communicate with their colleagues, they had to rely on written communication. Even then, the information wasn’t in real time and became information from a secondhand source.

Fast forward almost four years later and PSNS & IMF has since made strides in improving the working conditions for its deaf employees.

Hollie Brown became the second full-time ASL contractor hired by the command last July. The use of phones, tablets, Ubiduos (a two-way communication device with split screens to facilitate communication between deaf and hearing communicators) are more widely available. The command holds a contract for ASL interpreting services and is able to hire sub-contractors to help fill the demands of the command's deaf community. Interpreters are now more readily available for job and promotion interviews.

According to Bell and Brown, these initiatives have led to PSNS & IMF doubling the amount of deaf employees working at the shipyard.

“We are proud of that,” Bell explained. “It’s been a very steady process and the shipyard’s leadership has been supportive.”

Bell and Brown’s office is working with deaf employees like Brandon Salley, a deaf electrician assigned to Shop 51, Electricians, to help hearing co-workers better communicate with them. ASL Lunch and Learn sessions happen every other Thursday in Building 435, Room 244, 11:20 a.m. – noon. The sessions, which offer three levels of ASL learning, have been going on for several months and have been a huge resource for workers like Salley.

Employees who are just starting to learn ASL can attend these sessions and learn basic greetings, how to sign the alphabet, and common phrases. Advanced and intermediate students can participate in more substantive communication using ASL. But, whatever level you come in at, knowing ASL in the workplace can have a huge impact on the team.

“Just knowing the basic ASL will help support each other’s work-related jobs and will also help lift deaf employee’s morale by just signing ‘Hi’ or ‘Good Morning,” Salley explained.

It sounds like a simple thing for many, but, according to Brown, being able to communicate on a basic level is more than just conveying information.

“What people don’t understand is that English is many (deaf) workers' second language here at the shipyard,” she said. “Learning sign is a way to show respect and get on these workers’ level. It’s a way to include them and allow them to contribute to the team.”

Salley said he believes the PSNS & IMF ASL program is directly responsible for his career success.

“Communication is a vital part of helping me thrive in my electrician position and beyond, “he explained. “Having ASL here really helped me to be able to communicate with my co-workers, supervisors and higher ups in real time; instead of being left out.”

While the improvement has been substantive, there is still more to be done to help deaf workers working at PSNS & IMF according to Salley.

He points out that with ten workers and only two full-time interpreters, that availability is still limited during work hours. With ten workers spread out across the shipyard, the staff interpreters assigned to assist them all are frequently stretched too thin. It's an area we can improve.

“I would like to see at least four full-time ASL interpreters on this site to provide better availability,” Salley explained.

As the command works to bolster its ASL resources and programs, every employee can take advantage of the opportunity to learn ASL—and potentially bring a new level of skill to their team. ASL isn’t only beneficial for communicating with deaf employees—any team that operates in a loud environment, for example, could benefit from learning signs to help overcome communication barriers in the workplace.

This introduction of a new skill is a great example of how the diversity of our workforce makes us better. When we open ourselves up to new perspectives and experiences—like navigating the workplace without hearing—we can all benefit.