Springfield’s United Personnel Services sells to Worcester-based Masis Staffing Solutions
Updated May 18, 2021;
Facebook Share
SPRINGFIELD Worcester-based Masis Staffing Solutions, which does business in 18 states, has purchased United Personnel Services of Springfield.
United Personnel’s President Patricia Canavan and Chief Financial Officer Dave Mazzucco will join the Masis executive team, the companies said Tuesday.
Canavan, daughter of founders Mary Ellen Scott and the late Jay Canavan, said United has been collaborating with Masis. They’ve helped United recruit for a large client in Chelmsford, and United has helped Masis recruit in Western Massachusetts and in Connecticut.
“As we’ve worked together we’ve come to realize synergies between the two management teams and the two companies,” she said. “We weren’t looking for this kind of partnership, but the more that we got to know them and vice versa, we saw that we could be stronger together.”
‘You feel like you keep getting hit’: Massachusetts businesses that survived COVID feel ‘penalized’ by unemployment tax hike
Updated 5:00 AM;
Today 5:00 AM
Pride Stores CEO Robert Bolduc, right, shows off some food selections his newest store on State Street in Springfield last August. (Peter Goonan / The Republican file photo)
Facebook Share
“And the sad thing is that we already pay to compete with this,” he said.
During the pandemic, Pride has paid out almost $1 million in $5-an-hour hazard pay in addition to workers’ regular wages, Bolduc said. The convenience store chain has about about 500 employees and offers starting pay of $15 to $18 an hour.
Massachusetts manufacturers struggle to fill critical jobs
Updated Feb 15, 2021;
Posted Feb 15, 2021
Springfield rail car manufacturer CRRC last fall hired 40 electrical engineers and 42 mechanical engineers to meet demands for the coming year and beyond. (Don Treeger / The Republican file photo)
Facebook Share
It has been one of the economic conundrums of the coronavirus pandemic: Unemployment rates rose to unprecedented levels, but some employers have been begging to fill jobs.
With the onset of the spread of COVID-19 triggering a state unemployment rate of 17.7% in June – the highest since the Great Depression – the pandemic led to a state-ordered shutdown of businesses. As a result, many companies furloughed workers, as others pivoted to find new ways of maintaining their business.