Poor communication between departments, negative reinforcements to motivate employees, horrible work/life balance, dated and criminally ignorant approach to managing employees.
The right hand NEVER knows what the left hand is doing - work duplication is so common it is laughable, which would be amusing if salary employees weren't pushed to work long hours to complete tasks. Hourly employees aren't much better off - mandatory overtime can be enforced at a moment's notice, regardless of your transit/childcare/other life obligations.
This company sinks time and money into archaic practices in the name of employee morale - a Christmas lunch served to the people by upper management! A company wide race to donate to United Way! Prizes include winning the right to come to work for one day a year without the mandatory pantyhose or necktie! Sadly, they seem to miss what modern America's business force has discovered: allowing small freedoms and treating employees with respect actually garners a happier workforce, which indisputably increases productivity without major expense.
It is shocking how aggressively NWA seeks to exploit it's union employees, being a third party administratior for union benefits. While upper management meets with it's client and talks the talk, behind closed doors employees are treated shamefully. Rather than sharing more anecdotes, I'll leave it at this - if you are a true union person, and believe in unions as a necessary force protecting the working class, you should not be doing business with this company.
Sadly, the worst thing about this company is that you will most likely have to experience it for yourself. With it's above entry pay scale and attractive benefits, combined with the convenient location, people searching for an administrative position will flock to this company. NWA is banking on it - they pay higher for the right to avoid any reform from within, because employees are disposable. Once you're in, the gilded cage is firm. It will seem impossible to find other work as easily, with comparable pay. Before I managed to leave, I witnessed a nervous breakdown (literally) and another employee admit they started fantasizing about suicide, just to get away.
