Retirement on the Line: Age, Work, and Value in an American Factory by Caitrin Lynch (review)

American labor, industrial and otherwise, is often thought of according to certain demographic paradigms. Caitrin Lynch’s Retirement on the Line, though, forces us to rethink those norms and, in the process, the nature of work, aging, and employee-employer relationships.

It is a fascinating work of contemporary demographic study into modern gerontology. Beginning in 2006, Lynch began visiting the Vita Needle Company in Needham, Massachusetts (and later working at the factory starting in 2008). She conducted interviews and ethnographic research, framing her conclusions well within a myriad of sociological and anthropological frameworks.

At first glance, the company is rather typical of a small, family-run business. Since 1932 Vita has manufactured needles, typically hollow needles used for everything from basketballs to surgical procedures. It is hard, tedious, and meaningful work for its approximately forty line workers. What makes Vita Needle so intriguing, however, is its employees. While not exclusively, most of its workers are retirement age (or well beyond). There are workers in their 70s, 80s, and even the 99-year-old Rosa.

Broken into two parts, the text hopes, according to Lynch, to “contribute to scholarship that exposes or probes cultural assumptions about the meaning of the life course; how to make late life meaningful; and how to find, create, and maintain value in life” (21). Part I, “Up the Stairs,” centers on the value and reward Vita workers seem to glean from their days on the shop floor. “Making Money for Fred” (Fred, being the 56-year-old benevolent owner) is seen as worthwhile and non-exploitive. Exemplified by the Christmas party and bonus checks, familial relationships have developed, with Fred as a father figure and Rosa as a maternal one. Vita workers, Lynch discovered, feel a sense of belonging and sameness at work. They also enjoy the flexibility of work at Vita and, rather than a presumed exploitation, its employees see work there—with control over their schedule—as a “value making opportunity,” where they can earn some extra money and “keep busy” (103). Part II, “In the Press,” explores the remarkable media attention, in print and in film (such as the New York Times, 60 Minutes, and several European-produced documentaries), paid to Vita Needle for its unique employment model. Outsiders have seen Vita as part curiosity, but also as a potential archetype for business and policy-making aimed at “humane capitalism” (149).

In short, Vita is and has been, according to Lynch, “a sanctuary, an oasis…a place that is comforting and caring, where they can belong” (115). This pleasant picture is an exceptionally convincing one. Some readers might be left wondering if all that occurs at Vita might be too harmonious—particularly in terms of conflict in the context of familial relationships (which Lynch admits occurs). Nevertheless, there is indeed something special about Vita Needle, and Retirement on the Line brilliantly captures that spirit—along the way getting us thinking about what it means to be “old,” job satisfaction, and the value of honest work.