Journeyman sheet metal workers under SMART Local 36 in St. Louis, MO earn $52/hr in base wages, or $74.09/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Jul 2025.
SMART Local 36 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 36 pay scale for 2026 is $52.00 per hour for journeymen in St. Louis, MO, or about $104,000 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $74.09 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 7/28/25.
| Local 36 journeyman hourly wage | $52.00 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $74.09 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $104,000 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $23.40–$26.00 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 7/28/25 |
A Local 36 apprentice in St. Louis, MO starts at roughly $23.40 an hour — about 45% of the $52.00 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $39.00 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 36 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $23.40 / hour | $46,800 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $28.60 / hour | $57,200 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $33.80 / hour | $67,600 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $39.00 / hour | $78,000 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $44.20 / hour | $88,400 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $52.00 / hour | $104,000 |
SMART Local 36 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call (314) 371-2800 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 36 represents the skilled sheet metal workers, HVAC technicians, and industrial fabricators across eastern Missouri and portions of southern Illinois. Headquartered in St. Louis at their state-of-the-art training center, the local sets the standard for architectural sheet metal, commercial ventilation, and specialized metal fabrication. The market is defined by a heavy concentration of healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and industrial hubs that require high-precision ductwork and environmental control systems. As a dominant force in the regional construction economy, the local ensures that signatory contractors have access to a labor pool trained in the latest BIM technologies and automated fabrication methods used in modern mechanical systems.
Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored the labor dynamics within the St. Louis metropolitan area, noting that Local 36 remains a critical partner for mechanical primes. The jurisdiction is not limited to ductwork; it encompasses testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB), service work, and specialized stainless steel applications for the food and beverage industry. Members operate under a collective bargaining agreement that stabilizes labor costs for contractors while providing workers with a middle-class wage and comprehensive fringe benefits. This stability makes the St. Louis market a primary destination for sheet metal professionals seeking long-term career growth in a region with a consistently high demand for complex mechanical infrastructure and large-scale architectural projects.
The SMART Local 36 pay scale is structured to reward technical proficiency and time in the trade. As of the July 28, 2025 effective date, the journeyman hourly rate is established at $52.00. When factoring in the fringe benefit package, the total package reaches $74.09 per hour. The local 36 apprenticeship pay scale follows a graduated percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting at 40-45% for first-year apprentices and increasing roughly every six to twelve months as competency milestones are reached. These incremental raises are contingent upon both on-the-job hours and successful completion of classroom modules at the JATC. By the final year of the five-year program, apprentices earn near-journeyman wages while finalizing their certifications in welding, HVAC service, or architectural detailing.
The chartered territory for SMART Local 36 covers a broad geography centered on the St. Louis metropolitan area and extending across eastern Missouri. The jurisdiction includes the City of St. Louis and surrounding counties like St. Louis County, Jefferson, and Franklin, reaching into the Bootheel and parts of southern Illinois. Work performed within this area under the CBA includes the fabrication and installation of all air-handling systems, architectural metal roofing, siding, and industrial blow-pipe systems. Contractors operating in this region must adhere to the dispatch rules and travel provisions outlined in the agreement, ensuring that local labor is prioritized for projects within these specified county boundaries.
The contractor landscape for Local 36 is comprised of a diverse mix of large-scale mechanical primes, specialized architectural firms, and dedicated HVAC service providers. Signatory mechanical primes typically handle the largest institutional projects, such as hospital expansions and university laboratories, where they manage both the fabrication and field installation. There is also a robust contingent of smaller, specialized shops focused on decorative architectural metal and residential HVAC system design. Because the local maintains a highly modernized fabrication infrastructure, many signatory contractors operate their own computerized shops, allowing for a high degree of pre-fabrication that drives efficiency on job sites throughout the Missouri and Illinois corridor.
As of July 28, 2025, the total package for a journeyman sheet metal worker in Local 36 is $74.09 per hour. This figure includes the $52.00 hourly taxable wage plus $22.09 in fringe benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions, and training funds. This comprehensive package ensures both competitive take-home pay and long-term financial security.
Yes, SMART Local 36 has a significant jurisdiction over HVAC service and maintenance in the St. Louis market. This includes the diagnostic repair, startup, and ongoing maintenance of commercial and industrial climate control systems. Many signatory contractors specialize specifically in service, providing year-round employment opportunities that are often less susceptible to the seasonal fluctuations of new construction piping and ductwork.
Wages for Local 36 members are determined by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the union and signatory contractor associations. These increases are typically scheduled annually or semi-annually throughout the duration of the multi-year contract. The current scheduled rate of $52.00 takes effect in July 2025, reflecting the negotiated cost-of-living adjustments and trade value increases for the region.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, possess a high school diploma or equivalent, and have a valid driver's license. The process involves a standardized aptitude test and an interview. Once accepted, apprentices undergo a five-year program combining paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction at the St. Louis JATC, gradually increasing their percentage of the journeyman pay scale as they progress.
SMART Local 36 is seated in St. Louis, Missouri (MO). We hold published wage sheets for 13 locals across Missouri — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving St. Louis and the rest of Missouri, including contractors signatory to SMART Local 36. 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 36 pay scale for 2026 is $52.00 per hour for journeymen in St. Louis, MO, or about $104,000 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $74.09 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 7/28/25.
Journeyman sheet metal workers under the SMART Local 36 agreement make $52.00 an hour in base wages, or $74.09 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 7/28/25. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$52.00 per hour base wage and $74.09 per hour total package for a journeyman in St. Louis, MO, effective 7/28/25. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $104,000 before overtime.
A Local 36 apprentice in St. Louis, MO starts at roughly $23.40 an hour — about 45% of the $52.00 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $39.00 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 36 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $23.40 an hour, or roughly $46,800 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $52.00 journeyman rate effective 7/28/25. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $33.80 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $39.00 an hour in the fourth period and $52.00 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 36 training center.
The current SMART Local 36 journeyman rate is $52.00/hour, with a total package of $74.09/hour including fringe benefits, effective 7/28/25. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $104,000 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 36 business office before relying on the figure.
The $52.00/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $74.09/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 36 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 $52.00/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $23.40–$26.00/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
SMART Local 36 is headquartered in St. Louis, MO 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 36 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 36 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 36 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 36 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 7/28/25 schedule; check with the Local 36 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 36 against neighboring jurisdictions and other sheet metal workers markets.
The SMART Local 36 hall is at 2319 Chouteau Avenue Suite 100 St. Louis MO 63103, serving St. Louis, MO and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: (314) 371-2800.
SMART Local 36 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at (314) 371-2800 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 36 can be reached at (314) 371-2800. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.