Pros
Great pay for a having a high school diploma or GED, decent benefits (cheap medical coverage), teamwork-focused. I made nearly $20/hr when I was hired on, and overtime is plentiful during the Summer. Skills to be acquired include teamwork/group collaboration in order to solve problems, as well as equipment operation. Continuous Improvement (CI) works to have issues fixed as soon as possible. I was surprised by how quickly they resolve problems with the work environment.
Cons
Hard manual labor, fast-paced, and dangerous if you're not fully aware of what you're doing. Health concerns may arise from working with and being exposed to certain chemicals. You're discouraged from reporting work-related injuries by the gain sharing program (which rewards employees with a quarterly bonus check, affected by factors such as the facility's overall performance and number of recordable injuries/incidents). I understand that safety is incentivized, but there shouldn't be a peer pressure to keep quiet and not resort to worker's compensation in the event of an injury. Contingent employees should not affect the gain sharing payout. If you're not even eligible to receive a check. If you're an irresponsible person, you should be fired because you weren't fit for the job. The policy shouldn't drag everybody else down with you.