Physically demanding work, that is somewhat moderately rewarded
Pros
* Co-workers are friendly and function as a team. * Health, vision, dental, life insurance, paid holidays, paid vacation, plus paid personal time off * 401k matching to 6%, monthly performance bonuses, plenty of voluntary overtime available * Opportunities for advancement for those who are competent and show good attendance. * Flexible point system allows for occasional time off when situations arise * Fast-paced work environment passes the clock keeps you in shape without joining a gym.
Cons
* Certain supervisors are very difficult to work for, others are better, depends on your shift. * Packers treated like slaves sometimes while leadership, quality and maintenance might stand around talking about their day, like lords unwilling to help the peasants - can be extremely irritating. * Reviews are categorically imbalanced with reality, making it incredibly difficult to get 4/5 and darn near impossible to get 5/5. Supervisor said 3/5 was 'doing great'. Yet doing great isn't nearly good enough. * Hourly pay is not competitive with the market. Other companies pay $3-$4 more per hour for new hires, versus the $12/hour here for packers. Yearly raises appear to be small, even for the best employees. * There's a 6 month perfect attendance bonus, but almost nobody reaches it because if you come in 7 minutes late on one day at the end of month 5 you have to start over at day one and try it again. Regardless of how many extra shifts you worked on weekends to help out the company. * Looks like most promotions are given internally, so there is definitely opportunity to move up if you are willing to play the game. Seniority doesn't really play a factor as much as you'd think. Suspicions exist that favoritism is another way they choose who moves up and who doesn't.
