Pros
The folding carton industry is consistent work even in a down economy. When work is scarce and people are out of work, being here keeps your family fed. Wages are good for entry level to mid level manual labor because of the union, but caps out low compared to jobs of similar skill level in the surrounding geographical area.
Cons
Labor relations between labor and management are generally poor. Because of the union, staff is maintained at lowest possible levels and practically all compassion is eliminated in dealing with individuals since the contract stipulates everything. In other terms, giving any humanistic concession to an individual undermines the negotiated terms and sets precedent for all others to cry foul by. Perhaps because of this leadership demonstrates little care for the employee. To keep employed you must agree to work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. You will accept that your work is never good enough and you will accept that continued cuts to support and funding are disconnected from the requirement to do more and more. Frustration creates a caste system and seniority in the union solidifies resistance to any outreach anyway. If you take a job at the plant, be aware that the daily discourse is about how awful it is to work there and how hopeless is it to expect it to change. Management, it seems, feels the same and spends a great amount of time pitting various functions against each other to try to at least create individual success stories at yet further cost to the team. Silos abound eliminating communications and further destroying any chance of a professional environment.