Pros
+Great management experience you will never learn in college. +Gain insight about the union and teamsters. +Fast paced and chaotic. A good challenge if you appreciate one.
Cons
-Many teamsters are some of the most negative, lazy people you will ever meet. Half of them care about the company, the other half does not. They have a reason to be upset (loss of pension, pay cut), but their sour attitude towards work and local management are childish and unreasonable. It is difficult to get the most simple things done unless you play their "seniority" games. I have great respect for the ones who actually earn their pay, but some of them don't even deserve a minimum paycheck. Letters and accountability do not work. Many supervisors they do not like have been chased out. Turnover for management is crazy high, it is comical. Fortunately, I get along with the majority of teamsters, but some people will always be a thorn in your side. -12 hours shifts, but most of the time I don't even get a break. Too many reports to type and things to plan. I don't mind walking and working 12 hours straight, but it is mentality exhausting to deal with the most inane teamster complaints the entire time. -Unrealistic goals are set by upper management. Guys in suit and ties who have no idea how difficult it is to work the floor. These goals are nearly impossible to meet because the company is so cheap, they cannot get us enough equipment to even meet these goals. Many forklifts are too old, unsafe. The company is so poor, some trailers with holes in the roof are being used. A severe lack of deckbars means the customer freight is being damaged or cannot be serviced. -The company almost closed its doors a few months ago, the outlook is bleak, and loss of customers is rampant. Planning by upper management is nearly braindead, not enough people are even scheduled or hired to even service the customer. 1 hard working casual replaces 2 average teamsters. -Poor financial control, the company relies too much on paying overtime to senior teamsters who run less than 2bph moving one timers. It is strange, to say the least. -Ultimately, the pay is competitive, but when you consider the ridiculous problems you encounter in a union environment, is it really worth it? 80% of the issues you deal with would not even exist in a non-union environment.