Pros
Strong union contracts - my hourly pay is probably a little lower than other stores, but my health benefits have no weekly payment required. The cheap health insurance is the only real selling point of the job. Note though that this changes with your region, not every local union has this great deal.
Cons
Upper management (aka Corporate) seems clueless about how the stores operate. They constantly generate new lists of things that need doing, yet somehow stocking the shelves with product for people to buy is NOT on the list. This should be priority one for a store. Several stores closed last year, and I have no doubt more will be closing soon (my store is likely on the short list. Not a week goes by where management is satisfied with our sales figures). To control costs, their only solution seems to be cutting employee hours. My department has lost two full time people in the last year, and yet they are still cutting hours from those of us who remain. My team is constantly criticized that we haven't finished our work, even though we are now short more than 80 hours/week versus last year. I have to constantly rotate what parts of my job don't get done just so that management will shut up about certain things being unfinished.