Pros
Nonstop physical labor 4-6hrs per day. Full benefits for a part-time job after one year of employment. Internal promotion via bid sheets and exams to learn new skills, which translates into raises, eventually.
Cons
No "cons" per se, other than no amount of training can prepare one for the reality of the job. There is no easy way around this job other than doing the job 100%. What they do not tell you in training is that even though you are assigned to a belt, you will be told, not asked, to assist other belts on an as-needed basis. It *will* initially come as a shock after working your assigned shift, sweating your butt off, making sure your trailers are clean, walls well-built, irregulars (tires, farm equipment, packages 70lbs+, etc.) stowed away, your supervisor will tell you to report to another belt to help "clean" their trailers (read: do another supervisor/loader's job for them). This usually happens at the end of day, and is more often than not a thankless task. One can usually see this coming by the volume of radio squawk throughout the day from other supervisors on the floor: "PD-X needs help! PD-Y is getting buried! PD-Z only has two loaders!" Even if your PD is shipshape, you are expected to help others as needed. As long as one focuses on the work itself and ignores what folks around them may or may not be doing, which includes young, misinformed union folks who invariably give the union a bad name (working the bare minimum, threatening supervisors with petty grievances, spreading toxic b.s., etc.- avoid those folks) you'll be ok. Just do the job.