Con: Costs, prevailing wage, eats into project profits more than the market rate: subject to the language in the contract awarded, if your crew is non-union you can pay market, versus prevailing wage. State PW laws can vary: Massachusetts requires all public labor contracts to pay the prevailing wage.
Pro: Access to projects. Some contracts/ jobs require the work be awarded to union labor. Non-union shops can’t even bid in these instances.

Ask to see the collective bargaining agreement(s) - this may contain clauses obligating you to assume the terms contained therein, the seller may need to disclose the possibility of a change of control. Consider the liability of a multi-employer pension plan. Look closely at management rights, NLRB grievances. Message me if you would like to connect, I have seven years experience with organized labor. Glad to discuss .

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Thanks Luke! There are a few other posts on the site that contain good information on this topic as well, and I am NOT a labor law specialist, but I always encourage potential buyers of union businesses to get absolute clarity on pension obligations and how they might impact the business or owners personally. Here's a nice summary from a local large law firm: https://www.employmentandlaborlawblog.com[redacted]pension-plan-withdrawal-liability/

Assume you are stuck with them unless the business fails and you can restart without a union. OR you can somehow get them to decertify in your acquisition which is close to impossible. Some unions are great and some will feel like you are negotiating with Isis. I would read the CBA, meet with shop president and local leader at HQ and try to get a sense of who you are dealing with. And get a sense of the national union and their approach - some are terrorists who delight in shutting down factories to scare everyone else in the industry into compliance while others have very little interest in how the local shops operate. The good union situations are great in that they can provide you with trained and reliable labor at fair prices. Unfortunately, those are hard to find.

Be sure any unfunded withdrawal liability related to the pension is booked on the balance sheet (there is almost always underfunded liability). Depending on the amount, I've seen situations where the seller is willing to divest for only the assumption of the liability (assuming the liability is close to EV). It's very inexpensive financing.

Consider partnering with them. Also out of the box idea would be to offer the employees some of the equity within the deal (maybe through a phantom equity grant check out http://www.phantomstockonline.com/) that way the fight is not with ownership or management (since they would in fact be the former and be served by the latter) rather with the market and critiquing the business plan. My experience is that with the right approach unions can be catalytic within a business and could even be a true partner DURING the search phase. It's just all about setting up the right incentives.