Blind workers protest closing of 102-year-old Malden facility

Governor Deval Patrick's administration remained firm yesterday, saying there were no plans to reduce cuts.

A cluster of a half-dozen blind people with handmade cardboard signs stood outside the State House yesterday and demonstrated against Governor Deval Patrick's decision to close the state-run Ferguson Industries for the Blind as part of his budget cuts.

As workers entered the State House, the employees distributed fliers that had a simple plea in capital letters: "PLEASE HELP SAVE OUR JOBS."

The Malden facility - in business since 1906 - provided assembly worker jobs and, perhaps more important, a strong community for about 25 people with visual impairment. The small group of protesters yesterday, who had to take time off work to make it, showed that they don't have the numbers, or the political clout, of police or retiree unions.

"I'm just so beside myself at this point," said Julie Sullivan, 47, a Maynard resident who has been a receptionist at Ferguson for five years and was among the protesters.

"I don't know what to do or who to talk to. I'm just fed up with the situation. With the sign of a pen, it's all gone," she said.

Cuts to programs for the blind, the mentally disabled, the elderly, and other special needs populations have been denounced by advocates, who say they are hitting too deeply and causing hardship among people who can least afford to take a hit.

The protesters were not able to confront Patrick yesterday, who was in Belchertown swearing in a new judge and meeting with town administrators to discuss his budget cuts.

The Patrick administration remained firm yesterday, saying that no matter how painful the cuts, there were no plans to overturn them.

"These are really difficult times, and the decision to close Ferguson was one of the difficult decisions we had to make," said Jennifer Kritz, deputy communications director for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. "We're working closely with the employees to make sure that we can try to help them get other jobs."

Patrick last week unveiled a plan to close a $1.4 billion budget gap through a variety of measures, including eliminating 1,000 state jobs through layoffs and retirements and not filling vacant positions.

The governor, using his powers to balance the budget, unilaterally made $624.5 million in cuts last week. Of that, about $47.8 million are costs that will be taken on by other agencies, and about $24 million in trust money will be used to make up for the losses - so the actual reductions in programming made by the governor is closer to $550 million. The governor is also preemptively denying another $146 million in anticipated spending requests from his departments.

Another $41 million is being cut voluntarily by areas not under the governor's control, such as the offices of the attorney general and the state treasurer.

About $420.5 million of his plan still needs approval from the Legislature. A bill filed by the governor last week was referred yesterday to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The cuts touched nearly every area of state government, including several high-profile initiatives important to the governor and top legislative leaders. The governor decided not to cut local aid to cities and towns, which was a relief to municipal officials.

Advocates have criticized some of the cuts, but there have not been the large, widespread protests that have marked past budget cuts. The governor met with several groups before making his announcements. With the Legislature currently not in session, there are fewer people to hear protesters' pleas.

Ferguson Industries for the Blind employs visually impaired workers who make brooms, office supplies, and linens. It is scheduled to close next month, and 25 blind workers were told last week that they would lose their jobs. Workers yesterday began filing out paperwork that could enable them to receive 75 percent of their pay as part of their retirement. Another seven workers at the facility are state employees, most of whom will be relocated to other areas of state government.

In addition to closing Ferguson Industries for the Blind, state budget cuts are also affecting funding for basics like magnifying glasses and talking clocks for poor, elderly residents. Janet LaBreck, the state's Commissioner for the Blind, said in a recent interview that it "was a very, very difficult decision for us to have to see a program like Ferguson Industries to come to an end."

"It's really hard," LaBreck said last week. "I've been in state government for 24 years, and I've never seen it this bad. It has a human toll, and this is the result of this kind of economic downturn."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.