Journeyman sheet metal workers under SMART Local 18 in Milwaukee, WI earn $55.58/hr in base wages, or $83.25/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Mar 2025.
SMART Local 18 runs its own dispatch and out-of-work list — call the hall to confirm hours, books and what to bring. Gulfstream is a private recruiter and does not control hall referral.
The Local 18 pay scale for 2026 is $55.58 per hour for journeymen in Milwaukee, WI, or about $111,160 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $83.25 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 3/5/25.
| Local 18 journeyman hourly wage | $55.58 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $83.25 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $111,160 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $25.01–$27.79 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 3/5/25 |
A Local 18 apprentice in Milwaukee, WI starts at roughly $25.01 an hour — about 45% of the $55.58 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $41.69 an hour by the fourth year and full scale on turning out. These are the standard percentage steps of scale, not a wage sheet Local 18 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $25.01 / hour | $50,022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $30.57 / hour | $61,138 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $36.13 / hour | $72,254 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $41.69 / hour | $83,370 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $47.24 / hour | $94,486 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $55.58 / hour | $111,160 |
SMART Local 18 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call (262) 798-1818 to confirm dispatch hours, required documents (union card, certifications, ID) and current list standing before traveling in. Contact details are imported from the UA, SMART and IBEW public directories. Gulfstream is a private recruiting firm, is not affiliated with the local, and does not control hall dispatch.
SMART Local 18 represents skilled sheet metal workers across the majority of Wisconsin, maintaining a primary presence in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and surrounding industrial corridors. The local oversees a diverse workforce specialized in the fabrication, installation, and maintenance of HVAC systems, architectural sheet metal, and industrial ventilation. As the regional authority for the trade, Local 18 ensures that large-scale commercial developments and essential manufacturing facilities meet rigorous airflow and structural standards. The organization serves as the primary labor pipeline for signatory contractors requiring high-precision metal fabrication and complex ductwork installation in a market defined by both heavy industrial legacy and modern healthcare expansion.
The market dynamics for Local 18 are driven by a mix of public infrastructure projects and private sector industrial upgrades. Because the jurisdiction covers significant territory from the southeastern lakefront through the central regions of the state, the local maintains a robust infrastructure for training and dispatch. Their role is critical in the local construction economy, providing a stable, highly trained workforce that supports the operational needs of schools, hospitals, and food processing plants. By centralizing craft standards, Local 18 facilitates a competitive bidding environment for signatory employers while securing standardized benefits and safety protocols for its members throughout the greater Milwaukee region and beyond.
As of March 5, 2025, the journeyman hourly rate for SMART Local 18 is established at $55.58, contributing to a comprehensive total package of $83.25 when including fringes. This $27.67 difference covers essential benefits including health insurance and pension contributions. For those entering the trade through the apprenticeship program, wages are structured as a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting around 40% to 50% for first-year learners. These rates increase incrementally as the apprentice completes mandatory classroom hours and on-the-job training milestones. By the final year of the five-year program, apprentices often earn 80% to 90% of the full scale. This progression ensures that labor costs remain proportional to the skill level provided to the signatory contractor while offering a clear pathway to middle-class earnings.
The jurisdiction of SMART Local 18 is extensive, covering most of Wisconsin with its headquarters based in Milwaukee. The charter includes the fabrication and installation of all sheet metal products, ranging from light-gauge HVAC ducting to heavy-gauge industrial exhaust systems and decorative architectural metal. Members are dispatched to project sites throughout southeastern Wisconsin and into the central counties, supporting a variety of sectors including pharmaceutical labs and specialized manufacturing. The agreement governs work performed in fabrication shops as well as field installation, ensuring that the entire lifecycle of the metal product falls under the local’s quality standards. Travel and subsistence provisions may apply depending on the specific distance from the dispatch point to the job site as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.
The signatory contractor landscape for SMART Local 18 consists of a high concentration of specialized mechanical firms and dedicated sheet metal fabrication shops. These employers range from large regional primes capable of managing multi-million dollar HVAC contracts to boutique architectural metal firms focusing on exterior envelopes. The hiring environment is characterized by a demand for welders, detailers, and field installers who can navigate complex blueprints and Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored these labor trends, noting that the contractor base is heavily integrated into the state's commercial bidding cycles and industrial maintenance contracts, providing steady work for members who maintain updated certifications.
The hourly rate of $55.58 is the gross amount paid on the member's paycheck, while the $83.25 total package includes an additional $27.67 per hour in benefits. These fringes cover health insurance, retirement funds, and training costs, which are paid by the employer above the base wage. This allows members to receive full benefits without deductions from their take-home pay.
Yes, many signatory contractors require specific AWS welding certifications, particularly for industrial exhaust or structural support work. The Local 18 JATC provides the training and testing facilities for members to earn and maintain these credentials. Additionally, OSHA 10 or 30 safety training is a standard requirement for all members working on major commercial or industrial job sites.
Local 18 operates a referral hall where members are dispatched to signatory contractors based on their skills and the chronological order of their registration on the out-of-work list. Contractors can request workers with specific skill sets, such as layout specialists or certified welders. This system ensures fair employment opportunities and helps contractors quickly scale their workforce for large projects.
Journeymen in good standing with other SMART locals may be able to transfer through the official reciprocal process. This usually involves contacting the Local 18 Business Manager to discuss current work volume and traveler needs. Transfers are subject to the local's bylaws and the availability of work within the Wisconsin jurisdiction to ensure local members are prioritized.
SMART Local 18 is seated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WI). We hold published wage sheets for 16 locals across Wisconsin — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Milwaukee and the rest of Wisconsin, including contractors signatory to SMART Local 18. Our office is in South Corona, California and we place union-scale tradespeople and field leadership nationwide.
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Journeyman scales as last published by each local. Rates change every contract cycle — confirm with the hall.
The Local 18 pay scale for 2026 is $55.58 per hour for journeymen in Milwaukee, WI, or about $111,160 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $83.25 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 3/5/25.
Journeyman sheet metal workers under the SMART Local 18 agreement make $55.58 an hour in base wages, or $83.25 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 3/5/25. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$55.58 per hour base wage and $83.25 per hour total package for a journeyman in Milwaukee, WI, effective 3/5/25. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $111,160 before overtime.
A Local 18 apprentice in Milwaukee, WI starts at roughly $25.01 an hour — about 45% of the $55.58 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $41.69 an hour by the fourth year and full scale on turning out. These are the standard percentage steps of scale, not a wage sheet Local 18 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $25.01 an hour, or roughly $50,022 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $55.58 journeyman rate effective 3/5/25. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $36.13 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $41.69 an hour in the fourth period and $55.58 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 18 training center.
The current SMART Local 18 journeyman rate is $55.58/hour, with a total package of $83.25/hour including fringe benefits, effective 3/5/25. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $111,160 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 18 business office before relying on the figure.
The $55.58/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $83.25/hour total package adds employer-paid fringes — health and welfare, pension, annuity, apprenticeship training, and industry funds. Contractors bid work off the total package, so that is the number that matters when comparing sheet metal workers labor costs across locals.
Apprentices under the SMART Local 18 agreement are paid a graduated percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting near 40–50% in the first period and stepping up each six-month or annual period until reaching 100% at turnout. Against the current $55.58/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $25.01–$27.79/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
SMART Local 18 is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and dispatches sheet metal workers manpower throughout its chartered jurisdiction. Work performed inside that territory falls under the local's collective bargaining agreement and wage schedule, even when the contractor is based elsewhere and travels in.
Most locals require applicants to be at least 18, legally able to work in the U.S., hold a high school diploma or GED, pass a basic math/aptitude assessment and a drug screen, and be physically able to perform sheet metal workers work. Some Local 18 programs give preference to applicants inside the jurisdiction or to veterans. Eligibility rules are set by the local's Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC), so confirm the current criteria with the hall before applying.
Apprenticeship applications go through the SMART Local 18 JATC, not through a contractor or a recruiter. Applications typically open in defined intake windows each year: you submit the application with proof of age, education, and residency, sit for an aptitude test, and then interview. Ranked applicants are placed on an eligibility list and indentured as signatory contractors call for apprentices. Gulfstream Strategic Placements does not process apprenticeship applications — contact the Local 18 training center directly.
Sheet Metal Workers apprenticeships generally run four to five years — roughly 8,000–10,000 hours of on-the-job training plus several hundred classroom hours per year. Apprentices earn a paycheck the entire time, stepping up through the wage periods until they turn out as journeymen at 100% of scale.
Signatory contractors hire through the local's hiring hall, so working under the SMART Local 18 agreement generally means being a member or being organized in through the local's process. Journeymen from other locals can travel in by signing the out-of-work book, subject to the local's referral rules and manpower needs. Non-union sheet metal workers professionals are usually placed with open-shop contractors instead — we recruit for both.
Rates move with the collective bargaining agreement, typically on a fixed anniversary date each year of a three- to five-year contract, with negotiated increases split between the base wage and the fringe package. The figures on this page reflect the 3/5/25 schedule; check with the Local 18 business office for any increase that has taken effect since.
Wage rates vary widely by local and market. Use the Union Pay Scale Explorer to sort every UA and SMART local by hourly wage, total package, and annualized pay so you can benchmark Local 18 against neighboring jurisdictions and other sheet metal workers markets.
The SMART Local 18 hall is at 2201 Springdale Road Waukesha WI 53186, serving Milwaukee, WI and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: (262) 798-1818.
SMART Local 18 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at (262) 798-1818 to confirm dispatch hours, required documents (union card, certifications, ID) and current list standing before traveling in — Gulfstream does not control hall dispatch.
SMART Local 18 can be reached at (262) 798-1818. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.