Teamsters in Philadelphia

The Teamsters in Philadelphia are the area locals of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. They represent workers in warehousing, package delivery, bus and paratransit driving, ambulance services and, through one local, school administrators. Teamsters locals in the region are part of the wider network described in Organized Labor in Philadelphia, and several are affiliated with the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO.^[1]

1 Locals and leaders

Teamsters locals are separate unions with their own officers; the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO's executive board lists James O'Mara for Teamsters Local 107 and Daniel Grace for Teamsters Local 830. Local 623, which describes itself as representing 2,100 warehouse workers, package-car drivers, bus drivers, paratransit drivers and others in the Philadelphia area (April 2026), is led by Secretary-Treasurer Richard Hooker Jr., according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' press releases.^[2]

Teamsters Local 502 is the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA), the union of principals and other administrators in the School District of Philadelphia. In a district press release dated November 24, 2025, CASA President Dr. Robin Cooper announced a tentative four-year agreement with the District, which Superintendent Tony Watlington also welcomed. An earlier tentative agreement between the same parties was announced in November 2024.^[3]

2 Transport, EMS and school workers

Local 623 has grown through organizing in transportation. On March 1, 2024 the Teamsters announced that 209 bus drivers and attendants at Philadelphia Transportation, a company providing student transportation, had voted by more than 90 percent to affiliate with Local 623; the union said the local had represented the same bus yard (or "barn") years earlier. On March 27, 2025 the Teamsters announced that these workers had ratified their first contract, a three-year agreement that includes a grievance and arbitration procedure and route bidding by seniority. On April 27, 2026 the union announced that 218 paratransit drivers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics at Ambulnz had voted to join Local 623.^[4]

Operators of the region's public transit system, SEPTA, are mainly represented by a different union, TWU Local 234, not the Teamsters. The airport and the port, described in Port and Bridge Authorities, also employ freight, logistics and service workers who may be represented by various unions.

3 Legal framework

Private-sector Teamsters locals, such as the units at bus companies and ambulance services described above, are covered by the National Labor Relations Act and the National Labor Relations Board, whose Region 4 office is in Philadelphia; its election and unfair labor practice cases are public records on nlrb.gov.^[5] School administrators in Local 502 are public employees and fall under Pennsylvania's laws; see Public Sector Bargaining in Pennsylvania.

4 Politics

Teamsters locals take part in the labor council and in political endorsements; see Labor and Politics in Philadelphia. Endorsements are made by the individual unions and councils, so a local's choices do not necessarily match those of the national union.

See also: Service and Health Care Unions, Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council.

References

1. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, teamster.org; Teamsters Local 623, teamsterslocal623.org.
2. Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, Executive Board, phillyaflcio.org (viewed October 2026); Teamsters, "Ambulnz Workers Join Teamsters Local 623" (April 27, 2026).
3. School District of Philadelphia, "Teamsters Local 502 Commonwealth Association of School Administrators and The School District of Philadelphia Secure Tentative Agreement" (November 24, 2025), philasd.org.
4. Teamsters, "Philadelphia Transportation Workers Join Teamsters Local 623" (March 1, 2024) and "Philadelphia Transportation Teamsters Ratify First Contract" (March 27, 2025), teamster.org.
5. National Labor Relations Board, case search (Region 4, Philadelphia), nlrb.gov.