Pros
At times. NWA has been a stable employer and positions in Accounting and Eligibility and Pension have generally not required much prior experience. As clerks are part of a union, your pay rate is transparent and generally you won't be asked to work outside your established hours, though overtime might be required to get all your work done at times. Hybrid and limited WFH has been available in the past, though likely will be less available in the future.
Cons
The overall pay is low, though above minimum wage; it does not take that many years to hit the maximum at your union grade so there is little financial incentive to stay longer than 5 years or until you are promoted to Grade 4 (Grade 5 positions are mostly nonexistent). The job stability has significantly eroded over the years as the company has restructured the Accounting and Eligibility department in particular a number of times, dropping trust funds and those associates with the lowest seniority with very little regard. The in-house recordkeeping software is severely outdated and few transferable technical skills can be gleaned from learning to work with it; enhanced software is periodically being rolled out but continues to have a variety of issues due to short-sightedness and a disregard for the input of the clerks in the department and their expertise from working directly with employers and participants. Generally, there is a sense of disconnection from management, as requests for assistance due to increasing workload are met with advice to attend time management trainings, and the content of these trainings are invariably condescending, useless, or both. There is currently a push towards auditing processes without a basic understanding by management of the processes being audited, which contributes to low morale and lack of faith in the company as a whole. Likewise, failure to meet the standards and new metrics required by the audits are punished without substantively assisting the associate in improving their performance - while some superficial attempts are made in this regard. generally it is framed as an issue of retraining and time management and the personal responsibility of the clerk in question, rather than the increased workload, layoffs, and inadequate technology which contribute to systemic problems. Overall, this company is no longer making long-term investments in its workers, and does not seem to be interested in helping them succeed in the positions they have, much less grow and develop their careers.