Vantaggi
The union makes sure its full time employees are paid well. Benefits are great, although every contract sees the cost of those benefits going up. Fairly flexible scheduling.
Svantaggi
Union protection applies to everyone...even the worst employees who deserve to be fired on the spot are safe in the knowledge that unless they get caught stealing, they will NEVER lose their job. The company is populated by employees with 20+ years experience who don't give a crap about their job and know that there is nothing that can be done about it. Part-time employees don't make a decent wage and it is nearly impossible to be granted full-time status anymore. All store mamagement cares about is labor cost, so departments are NEVER given the hours to get done what needs to be done. Overnight jobs are the worst! Absolutely no flexibility in scheduling. You'll be there on the days they say and that's final. Despite the fact that overnight work basically means you'll never see your family/friends again. And the company believes the extra .60 premium you get for those hours makes up for it. Department managers are explicitly instructed to stop being nice to employees and to "inspire" them to work harder by yelling and berating them.