Local 988 is comprised of nearly 8,000 members and has steadily become the second largest Teamsters union in Texas. We actively organize at companies whose employees want to form a union to secure better working conditions, wages, and benefits for themselves and their coworkers. We serve members at more than 30 companies and over 60 worksites.
Local 988 is a part of Joint Council 58 – Southern Region, an International Brotherhood of Teamsters affiliate, which incorporates four local unions that have combined territory reaching from the Texas Gulf Coast to San Antonio.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and currently represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico as the 4th most powerful labor union in the United States. To learn more about the Teamsters, visit teamster.org, or follow them on X, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest union news and updates.
Our History
Today’s Local 988 is the result of several Teamster Locals combining into one. Over time, Locals 968, 949, 920, and 1111 merged together to form one of the largest single locals in Texas and the South.
Chartered in October 1967, Local 988 was formed when the freight drivers of Local 968 decided they would be better served having their own union. Previously, Local 968 was divided between freight drivers and warehouse workers who worked primarily in the grocery industry at places like Weingartens in the late 1960s. Both unions were housed in the same location along the Katy Freeway in Houston, Texas. Local 968 rejoined Local 988 in October 2015.
Changing Times
Over the years, as the Houston retail grocery industry changed, the legacy bargaining units represented by Local 968 underwent significant constriction resulting in diminished union membership. Changes in elected leadership brought further instability to Local 968, which is what led to the aforementioned reunification of Local 968 and 988.
Building for the Future
In the early 2000s, Local 988’s membership reached a low point, sinking to around 3,000 members. Since then, through hard work and diligent organizing, membership has grown to nearly 8,000.
Houston area Teamsters can be proud of historic victories on behalf of these workers, including the workers at WCA, the first organized trash hauler in the Houston area, and Southern Glazer’s. Local 988 remain committed to improving the lives of workers along the greater Texas Gulf Coast region, and continues working to grow its membership.
Local 988’s Territory
Local 988 covers an expansive territory. At the center of this territory is Harris County, the third-most-populated county in the country, which includes Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States. This territory stretches from Houston to the Louisiana border, northeast to Lufkin, northwest to College Station, west to Schulenburg, and southwest to Victoria.
