What Teamsters Local 986 does

Teamsters Local 986 is a chartered local union of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), founded in 1948 and headquartered in Covina, California. As the largest Teamsters Local in the United States following its June 2025 merger with Local 911, it represents more than 30,000 workers across the Western United States, Hawaii, and Guam. Its membership spans five operational divisions: the Airline Division (covering pilots, mechanics, customer service agents, and cargo handlers at hub locations including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Hawaii, and Guam), the Construction Division (covering seven California counties under the Southern California Master Labor Agreement), the Trade Show and Convention Centers Division (operating across the U.S. and Canada), the Las Vegas Division (covering hotels, casinos, rental car, and hospitality workers), and retail representation including over 1,000 Costco employees in Southern California. Recent organizing expansions have added public sector workers through a partnership with Local 1932.

The union's core offering is membership-based representation and collective bargaining, augmented by member services including legal counsel for workplace injuries, the Teamsters Life with Dues benefit plan, academic scholarships for dependents, the D.R.I.V.E. political action committee, and shop steward training programs. Operations are supported by four physical offices (Covina, Las Vegas, Santa Maria, Bellflower) and an online member portal handling dues collection via PayPal, address updates, and form downloads. Technology infrastructure is conventional — a member database with online dues payment — with no disclosed AI, machine learning, or proprietary software systems.

Local 986 generates revenue almost exclusively through monthly member dues, tiered at $90.00 (Groups #1 and #3) and $80.00 (Groups #4 and #5), with daily casual rates for trade show workers. Distribution is delivered in-person through Shop Stewards and Business Agents stationed at employer worksites and union offices, and self-serve through the website. Its parent organization, the IBT, represents 1.3 million members across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, while Teamsters Joint Council 42 (covering Southern California, Southern Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan) oversees 22 affiliated locals representing approximately 200,000 working Teamsters and retirees.

Name

Teamsters Local 986

Legal name

Teamsters Local 986

Website

https://local986.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Teamsters Local 986 is the largest Teamsters local in the United States, representing over 30,000 workers across airlines, construction, hospitality, retail, and municipal sectors throughout the Western U.S., Hawaii, and Guam. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Covina, California, it provides collective bargaining, grievance representation, and member benefits funded by monthly dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Covina

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: Teamsters Local 986 generates revenue through monthly union dues paid by members. Dues vary by group classification: Group #1 & #3 pay $90.00 per month, Group #4 & #5 pay $80.00 per month. All retirees pay the rate corresponding to the group they retired from. Additional daily dues apply for casual workers in the trade show industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Teamsters Local 986 is a chartered labor union local that provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, grievance handling, and workplace advocacy to over 30,000 members across the airline, construction, trade show/convention center, casino/hospitality, retail (Costco), and public-sector industries. Members pay monthly dues (typically $80–$90) and receive access to negotiated wages and benefits, legal services, scholarship programs, life insurance, political advocacy, and a network of Business Agents and Shop Stewards across four regional offices in the Western United States, Hawaii, and Guam.

Product overview

Teamsters Local 986 is a labor union offering comprehensive membership and representation services as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The union operates through distinct divisions including Airline, Construction, Trade Show and Convention Centers, Costco Workers, and Las Vegas (hospitality/casinos), each serving specific industry sectors. Supporting services include scholarship programs for member families, legal services for workplace injuries, workplace organizing assistance, member communications via contact forms, the Teamsters Life with Dues benefit plan, D.R.I.V.E. political action committee, and a forms/documents portal. The organization also provides an online dues payment system and shop steward training resources. With over 30,000 members following the 2025 merger with Local 911, it is the largest Teamsters local in the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Teamsters Local 986 Airline Division: Division representing airline industry workers including pilots, mechanics, passenger service agents, operations personnel, reservation specialists, and cargo handlers.
• Teamsters Local 986 Las Vegas Office
• Teamsters Local 986 Construction Division
• Teamsters Local 986 Trade Show & Convention Centers Division

Products and services

• Union Membership and Representation Services Core union membership and collective bargaining representation services for workers across multiple industries including airlines, construction, trade shows, casinos, retail warehouses, and municipal services throughout the Western United States, Hawaii, and Guam.
• Airline Division Representation

Quantifiable outcome

• Union workers earn 27% higher wages on average than non-union workers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Teamsters Local 911flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Teamsters Local 911 merged into Teamsters Local 986 on June 1, 2025, forming the largest Teamsters Local in the United States with over 30,000 members. This landmark merger strengthened the collective voice of thousands of Teamster members across a wide range of industries, expanding representation and bargaining power throughout the Western United States.
• Teamsters Joint Council 42coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamsters Joint Council 42 is the parent body to 22 Teamster Local Unions located and representing members in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Guam, Saipan, and Hawaii. Approximately 200,000 working Teamsters and Retirees are affiliated with the JC 42 Family.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe International Brotherhood of Teamsters is the parent labor organization representing 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Local 986 is affiliated with the IBT and operates under its umbrella while maintaining local autonomy for representation.
• Teamsters Local 1932coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamsters Local 1932 partnered with Local 986 to secure union recognition for approximately 45 City of Wildomar employees. Local 1932 led the organizing campaign while Local 986 provides day-to-day representation and negotiations.
• BeneSys AdministratorsminorOthersBenefits administrator for Teamsters and Food Employers Security Trust Fund. Located at 1050 Lakes Drive, Suite 120, West Covina, CA 91790. Phone: 1-855-866-0942.
• Northwest AdministratorsminorOthersAdministrator for Teamsters Miscellaneous Security Trust Fund. Located at 225 South Lake Avenue, Suite 1200, Pasadena, CA 91101. Phone: 1-626-463-6097.
• Western Conference of Teamsters Pension PlancoreOthersThe WCT Pension Plan, established in 1955, is the largest area-wide multiemployer pension plan in the United States, covering over 223,000 active participants and more than 1,400 employers nationwide. Phone: 1-800-531-1489.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: National federation of labor unions. Local 986 benefits from AFL-CIO political coordination and organizing resources through the IBT's affiliation, making AFL-CIO a strategic umbrella peer.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT): National parent labor union of 1.3 million members. Local 986 operates under its umbrella and shares the Teamsters brand, structure, and governance, making IBT the broad incumbent comparable.

Others

• Teamsters Joint Council 42: Parent body of 22 Teamster Local Unions in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Guam, Saipan, and Hawaii representing ~200,000 members. Local 986 is affiliated with JC 42, making it an institutional peer and coordination body.

Direct peers

• Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA): Union representing construction laborers, including many of the same Southern California construction trade categories Local 986's Construction Division organizes under the Southern California Master Labor Agreement.
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW): Union covering grocery, retail, and food-processing workers. Comparable to Local 986's retail (Costco) and food-service membership in California and Nevada.
• Teamsters Local 1932: Southern California public-sector Teamsters local that partnered with Local 986 to organize City of Wildomar employees. Operates within the same IBT/Joint Council 42 framework and shares overlapping public-sector and general-trade representation.
• UNITE HERE: Labor union representing hospitality, hotel, casino, and food-service workers — directly competing for representation in Las Vegas casinos and hotels where Local 986 has significant membership.
• Teamsters Local 911: Merged into Teamsters Local 986 in June 2025. Prior to the merger, Local 911 was a Southern California Teamsters local representing workers in similar industries, making it the most direct comparable (and now part of the same organization).

Emerging players

• SEIU (Service Employees International Union): Major AFL-CIO-affiliated union with overlapping membership in healthcare, hospitality, and public-sector service workers in California and Nevada. Competes for the same worker segments Local 986 organizes.
• Communications Workers of America (CWA): Union representing workers in telecommunications, customer service, and airline call-center roles — overlapping with Local 986's reservationist and passenger-service agent membership in the airline division.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/teamsters986
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teamsters-local-986

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Teamsters Local 986