In 1980, the General Executive Board unanimously approved a recommendation from the Eastern Conference to establish an Industrial Trades Division that would represent the myriad of industrial workers whose jobs did not readily fall into existing divisions such as Freight or Warehouse.

The Division is now composed of approximately 400 affiliated local unions that represent a total of more than 151,000 Teamsters employed in the industrial, automotive and parking industries. Among the types of employees we represent are:

• Chemical manufacturing workers
• Paper Companies
• Electronic manufacturing
• Tool and die
• Automotive related companies including:
  • Rental car and truck companies
  • Auto parts distribution
  • Tire manufacturing
  • Transmission companies
  • Car dealerships
• Parking industry
  • Parking garages and parking lots

The Industrial Trades Division represents approximately 30,000 members in the parking industry alone, including Central Parking the largest parking operator in the world. The Division formed the National Parking Council to specifically address their needs and to give higher visibility of our parking industry members.

The Division is here to assist our members and associated locals. We provide assistance in providing research and analysis on industry trends and to ensure we negotiate strong contracts that meet and exceed industry standards. We also provide assistance to locals organizing members within the manufacturing and automotive fields with the considerable expertise our leadership and field representatives bring to the table.

Our goal is to continue to increase the membership of the Industrial Trades Division. We welcome input from our division members and the locals who serve them.