Pros
Generally, good salaries, excellent benefits, and equitable treatment, because nearly all employees belong to a state or national union. That gives the union great leverage in negotiating workplace policies including salaries, benefits, opportunities for development, evaluations, hiring practices, and more. Most employees, including supervisors and administrators, are dedicated and supportive, and staff and faculty work as team. The university is located in a smaller city (30,000) with a low cost of living, a rich array of fine arts, and a multitude of outdoor recreation opportunities.
Cons
As in many colleges and universities, some staff and faculty take advantage of the security of tenure, fulfill only part of their responsibilities, and/or perform minimally or worse. Until faculty and staff themselves hold their colleagues accountable, this will continue. For faculty, the union can do little in cases of unfair denials of tenure and/or promotion. While most tenure and/or promotion decisions are just, a significant portion are not, and this can be brought about by a single colleague or administrator. In evaluating faculty performance, administrators ratchet standards ever higher as if faculty have ever-more energy and hours. For staff this takes the form of always-increasing responsibilities while the number of employees remains static. Conversely, the number of administrators has grown sharply over the past decade. This university is part of a statewide system, and the central administration for the system, located in St. Paul, consumes resources far in excess of the benefits it provides. Yet until recently it has been held largely unaccountable. This past year, for the first time, the legislature forced them to distribute allocated funds to the universities and colleges without first taking a huge slice for themselves.