Pros
I had the opportunity to join Meijer when a lot of their values aligned with Fred Meijer as it had just recently been ran by a member of the Meijer family. Through this, I developed great relations with my coworkers. This became my primary reason to stay at Meijer. Meijer has also made efforts to be more inclusive, which I think on the surface is good.
Cons
Over the course of 5 years, Meijer has gradually been lessening hours. There used to be one person per department, now we are lucky to have 3 people scheduled inside to cover the entirety of General Merchandise. This persisted through busier seasons, and many times there would only be one person to assist customers on the floor. The Union is helpful in some aspects, but negotiations fall short of representing the floor workers. The most recent arrangement provided an increase in the starting pay, but reset everyone's hours that contribute to their next raise. As a part timer who was a full time college student, I was not working many hours but was almost to my raise (940 of 1,000 hours). This reset put me back to where now I would have to work 1700 hours in order to get another raise, but I likely will not be around long enough to see this. Overall, I have made $4 from when I initially started in June 2018, but the amount of work I have had to pick up during this time does not reflect the pay whatsoever. Meijer has been stretching its employees thin and no longer offers a welcoming environment. I miss feeling valued, and now feel no more than a cog in a machine. Referring back to Meijer's inclusivity, their strive for diversity is possibly good, but also seems like a front in order to seem appealing. They pledge sustainability, but many of the brands they order from have products wrapped in needless plastic, resulting in Meijer contributing greatly to waste and pollution.