Pros
Decent base salary for Dock Supervisor position with regular salary review. The benefits are good and the overall compensation package is attractive. This is a fast-paced environment and when you work you are part of a team that is measured with other shifts. The 12 hour shifts go by really fast and its easy to miss lunch. The unionized dockworkers are good people but very clickish. They have supervisors they prefer to work for and if is not you they will keep wandering off back to the areas their friends are working. Once you bond with a good group of workers that enjoy working for you it makes life easier.
Cons
Long hours with 12 hour shifts can easily be 13 hours if you had a difficult shift. The stacking supervisor is at the mercy of the stripping supervisor and if they don't like you they can hold your freight and have it sent down to you at one time making your day a living hell. Most of the supervisors are young and the fun thing is making another supervisor on the stack side have a bad day and laugh about it later. It is a high stressed atmosphere and dangerous if you are not used to working around heavy equipment its easy to get hurt. The docks are cold in the winter, and hot in the summer and you are outside all of the time. The fumes from the trucks and jeeps are strong, and the noise level is high. Promotions are based on favoritism and demotions are possible as well. You can get off the dock and into the office, and find yourself back on the dock again. There is a lot of room for improvement here.