PITTSFIELD — The union representing Pittsfield Public Schools’ paraprofessionals says the district engaged in “union busting,” a mere month after negotiating a contentious new contract.
The Pittsfield Federation of School Employees has taken its complaint to the state’s Department of Labor Relations.
The complaint, filed in February, accuses the district of violating its contract with the union by using Georgia-based hiring agency BlazerWorks to fill 46 open paraprofessional positions in the district. The union became aware of the issue in October 2022.
District administrators told The Eagle that PPS used an existing contract with BlazerWorks from 2019 to begin hiring paraprofessionals, known as paras. Ann Marie Carpenter, the district’s director of human resources, diversity and inclusion, said the contracting picked up in August 2022.
Paras work alongside teachers to help educate special education students in substantially separate programs, integrated classrooms and kindergarten classrooms.
The district pays BlazerWorks between $50 and $55 an hour per employee. BlazerWorks sets the take-home amount for each worker individually, but the district does not know how much each staffer is paid. This contrasts with the going union rates of $17 to $24 an hour.
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