Pros
Pretty good pay, benefits like pension plan, medical & dental coverage and that’s what keeps guys there once you acclimatize yourself to the job. I think most guys are okay with the job but not the company. The job itself is okay even though it can be a pretty stressful and tough. I like the fact your own the road and you decide how to do your route. It’s nice when its good weather and they don’t overload you. But often you can be overloaded and put on a route you don’t know, unless you have a stable route. The guys I worked with were all really good guys and my direct managers were good and tried to do the best they could. But it is the upper management that sets the tone for the companies’ culture which is a lack of empathy for its workers. Possibly because were unionized has created some of this division but I wonder how we would be treated without one, there is a reason why unions were created :).
Cons
There is a lack of caring within the company and quickly you feel like a number and this is an opinion that I have heard from most of the guys at my depot. There is not much support for new workers who usually start in the warehouse, you have to wake up very early, handle stress, often long hours if you drive after and a physical job these are reasons why the turnover of new workers is quite high. It takes 4 years before you reach maximum pay and a year before you get coverage because some guys would use the insurance then quit. Paid breaks compared to other companies is not very good, you get one 15 minute paid break and are allowed to take a 30 minute lunch but it’s not paid that’s it. There is just not much of a company ethic of helping each other it comes from the guys themselves but they usually have to sacrifice their own work. Often we would get drivers from other depots during rushes that I would help out delaying my work because I knew they would be lost unless I helped them with their routes and I was told to just leave them figure it out. There are very little initiatives to bring employees together to build a good team spirit. Most of the employees I have talked to have mentioned the sentiment that the company only cares in how you perform and not much else and if you make a mistake you need to protect yourself. As an example they decided to enforce mandatory vaccination at a time that it was very clear that anyone could spread the virus whether vaccinated or not. It’s hard to understand why they don’t respect human rights and let people to decide for themselves. I guess not shocking since the government owns most of the company’s shares unfortunately.