THE PASSPORT TO SUCCESS

How the Production Tech Program Turned Teammates Into Heroes of Polycarbonate Pages

“It was a job that everybody wanted, but nobody could get,” says GPO Bookbinder George Dunn of working at GPO’s Secure Production Facility (SPF) in Stennis. “It was always something that interested me since I bought my house outside New Orleans in 2010.”

He held onto the idea of working at GPO, and 12 years later in 2022, Dunn was hired to work on the night shift at Stennis and join the Production Tech Program.

“I had zero knowledge of bookbinding, but the job posting for the Production Tech Program described needing machine operators,” says Dunn. “I had 30 years of experience working on machines, so I applied, and GPO saw my worth. When my wife asked what I would be doing, I told her I had no idea. All I knew was that as a patriot, the idea of helping to produce the passport was a thrill.”

Above: GPO Bookbinder George Dunn works as a Polycarbonate Machine Operator creating the first page of the United States Passport.

Dunn now works the day shift and recently completed GPO’s first-ever three-year Production Tech Program, graduating with 21 other teammates in Stennis and nine in D.C. from Production Tech to Bookbinder. Government Secure and Intelligent Documents (GSID) leadership began by moving some teammates internally into the program, followed by making external hires to join the program.

GPO Bookbinder Helena Vignoe, who works the night shift in Stennis, was one of the six Stennis teammates chosen to make the move internally and join the program.

“I was very excited when they told me I got this position,” says Vignoe, who had previously worked as a Printing Plant Worker (PPW). “As a PPW, you feed the machines with materials, but you don’t operate machines. I watched the Bookbinders and knew I would really like to do that myself.”

Above: The group of Stennis day shift teammates who graduated the Production Tech Program to become GPO Bookbinders.

Managing Director, GSID Dave Spiers explains that prior to the program, GPO was having difficulty recruiting people who had the right skills for making passports.

“We were getting less and less applicants to our Bookbinder job announcements, and we knew that we needed a new approach,” says Spiers. “The Production Tech Program has helped us fill a critical gap in our workforce.”

Through filling that gap in the workforce, the program has helped GPO meet the growing demand for passports, which for FY26 has grown to a record 27 million.

“The Production Technician position has been vital to the production and delivery of the U.S. passport,” says Spiers. “The implementation of this program demonstrates the forwardthinking nature of GPO in terms of adapting to a dynamic labor market. This innovation coupled with the GPO’s culture of training and Union support has made the program successful beyond our expectations.”
 

" GPO is a place where folks who might not fit in a lot of other workplaces can come have a great job with great benefits and great pay and be part of something bigger, and you all are part of that”

- GPO Director Hugh Halpern to Production Tech Grads.

As part of the program, teammates were given the opportunity to learn all the machines in the bindery. “We had zero experience with Bookbinding and had to start from scratch,” says Dunn of the program. “Our supervisors were patient. With their instruction it didn’t take long to get up to speed. Three years ago, I didn’t know how a book was made. Now, I can use all the various machines to fabricate all parts of the passports.”

In his graduation speech to fellow teammates, Dunn described gaining a new sense of purpose through the program after retiring from a thirty-year career in the United States Coast Guard.

“I truly look forward to coming to work every day,” he said in his speech.

Now that he has graduated from Production Tech to Bookbinder, Dunn is working as a Polycarbonate Machine Operator ensuring the first page of the passport, which contains the owner’s information and picture, is secured with polycarbonate.

“When people open up their passport, the first page is the one I have personally helped make,” says Dunn. “Having the opportunity to create secure documents for American citizens and knowing citizens travel using the documents I helped to create fulfills a deep satisfaction in me.”


Above: Along with Director Halpern and Chief of Staff Steve LeBlanc, Managing Director, GSID Dave Spiers recognized the need to fulfill a critical gap in the GPO workforce—Bookbinders to make the U.S. Passport. Thus, the Production Tech Program was born.

Since graduating, Vignoe is working on the bindery floor which creates and cuts strips of passports, followed by sizing the passports and getting them in boxes to be shipped out.

Dunn explains that it takes about one year before the passports that are made today are issued out to someone.

“I’ve been at GPO for three years, so there’s a good chance that many Americans are now being issued passports that went through my hands,” says Dunn. “It brings me a great sense of pride.”

Vignoe feels the same. “It’s challenging and rewarding,” she says of producing the passport. “I feel prideful that our citizens have something they really need that I made.”

Dunn says the GSID team works together to make passports, like an assembly line of people working on a car.

" I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say, we are all grateful for the Production Technician Program that has allowed us to thrive in this work environment and has bettered our lives. We believe that we are ready to assume the mantle and responsibility of being Bookbinders. Thank you, GPO, for believing in us and giving us a chance to meet and exceed your expectations.”

- GPO Bookbinder Nathan Carbajal in his speech at the Stennis night shift Production Tech graduation.

“It’s all an assembly process,” says Dunn. “You start with one machine and go on to the next, and so on. Everybody relies on everybody else to do their job to the best of their ability. Everybody at Stennis wants to do a really good job.”

“It’s great teamwork,” adds Vignoe. “We’ve been working together long enough now that we don’t even need to talk about a solution if an issue comes up. Everyone is in sync and knows what needs to get done to fix the issue. That’s how well we have learned to work together.”

And Dunn considers the passport to be more than just a document.

“Every page of the passport has artwork on it,” says Dunn. “I hope that American citizens take a couple minutes to look at it and recognize the work that went into it. It’s not just a document – it’s a piece of art.”

Spiers says the Production Tech Program is expected to continue indefinitely. GPO has been steadily hiring year-round for the program since it began.

Congrats, Stennis Grads!