Don't be motivated and don't ask as everyone will block you
Pros
Great pay coming in because they have no raises and they had nothing to go by. Remember when negotiating with them that they lost a lot of people when they gave them a 10% pay cut. I tried to do so many things as an employee but was blocked by others that didn't want the risk. I guess I can't blame them because they are jaded. You may encounter people past the age of retirement because they get very good pay that they could not get elsewhere at this late stage of their lives but don't expect to do anything to change anything as far as new projects. They choose safe projects and block you on everything else. Management team was pretty good as they diversified the workforce and started thinking outside the box a little. They restarted the 401k matching with a fully vested balance in the middle of this year. It is hard to keep technical or young people without this. The youngest people left early this year to pursue other opportunities and I think this made an impact on the company's ability to keep talent. Open to allow you to learn into anything technical in the position if you are willing to learn.
Cons
Could not get systems updated even when the cost was low and the risk was non-existent. People here don't want to risk losing their job. It is the nature of the world. They can't go and get another job quickly or even in a different field so they are going to protect the job they have. These people thought that the company would carry them forever and that just isn't the case. Unfair to someone like me that is constantly expanded my skillset though. That means no changes inside the company. If something breaks then you can look like you care but don't try to make anything better. Could have used more financial support for educational opportunities like the union workers have. Several times I protested unfair treatment from others in the company. Some (one) in Maryland had a bad attitude and I spoke up against that. They tried to blame me for things and I upgraded their system that was 30 plus years old. That was what they wanted. I got the vendor they wanted to do the upgrade too. But some of the lower level people there wanted to put me down to make themselves seem better. I suspect kickbacks all around the company too though I have no proof. Another problem is that the company has too much business with one customer and there are other industries that could replace that product easily. The flooring industry has become a commodity. The facilities here still make good product but it is not the awesomest product on the market anymore. Others are coming online (even in the USA) and competing heavily without the need for human labor. Another company makes practically all the parts for the one major customer. Why wouldn't they make the last part, the floor. This company makes walls and ceilings. Why would this company not make the floors too (in the future) or just buy out this company and get rid of the union. The labor aspect makes it hard to compete with new automated companies and there is a disregard for the quality at times. Do you see these products at the local home improvement store? Or do you get what they have after choosing between two or three home improvement stores?