Pros
Excellent Health Benefits. Great place to get experience in managing under adverse conditions. Working in operations will enable you to get experience in problem solving and working with difficult employees. You will learn how to meet deadlines and work under pressure and duress. If you are young and have a plan to get experience in managing, this is a good job for you. You will get enough exposure to people and situations to build skills in managing union employees.
Cons
Not a employee friendly company. Lack of candor from management regarding changes or decisions. Be careful providing any kind of constructive criticism, it is not always appreciated and could result in subtle forms of retaliation. Pay raises are not always clearly explained, and seem to be given out at a flat rate regardless of individual performance. Don't join management if you are simply looking for a paycheck; stay in the union if you are interested in drawing a paycheck. In the long run, you will make more as a union employee and still have the opportunities to join management at a later stage of your career.