The Teamsters Airline Division was founded at a meeting in 1961 in Chicago. Two years before that meeting ever took place, however, then-Teamsters General President James R. Hoffa was working diligently to organize airline workers across the country.

The first airline workers to join the Teamsters Union were Pan American World Airways ground crews; they ratified their first contract in 1959. This contract would serve as a model for many future negotiations.

Since that time, the Teamsters Airline Division has provided first-class service to airline workers around the country and has made great strides in fighting for the rights of industry employees.