Journeyman sheet metal workers under SMART Local 38 in Westchester & Rockland, NY earn $48.77/hr in base wages, or $48.77/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Oct 2022. This sheet is more than 2 years old, so confirm the current rate with the hall before quoting it.
SMART Local 38 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 38 pay scale is $48.77 per hour for journeymen in Westchester & Rockland, NY, or about $97,540 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $48.77 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
| Local 38 journeyman hourly wage | $48.77 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $48.77 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $97,540 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $21.95–$24.39 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 10/21/22 |
A Local 38 apprentice in Westchester & Rockland, NY starts at roughly $21.95 an hour — about 45% of the $48.77 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $36.58 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 38 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $21.95 / hour | $43,893 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $26.82 / hour | $53,647 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $31.70 / hour | $63,401 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $36.58 / hour | $73,155 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $41.45 / hour | $82,909 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $48.77 / hour | $97,540 |
SMART Local 38 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call (845) 278-6868 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 38 represents the highly skilled sheet metal workers, air balance technicians, and service mechanics serving the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County regions. As a chartered member of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, this local ensures that commercial and industrial projects across Westchester and Rockland Counties meet rigorous fabrication and installation standards. The membership is central to the regional construction economy, providing the specialized labor required for complex ductwork systems, architectural sheet metal, and specialized kitchen equipment installations. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored this market as a hub for both institutional upgrades and high-density commercial development.
The market demand for Local 38 members is driven by the unique geography of the New York suburbs, where aging infrastructure and new sustainable building mandates require sophisticated HVAC solutions. Signatory contractors in this jurisdiction manage everything from hospital ventilation systems to large-scale residential multi-family developments. Because the local maintains its own Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC), the workforce stays current on evolving technologies like BIM, advanced welding techniques, and energy auditing. This commitment to training ensures that labor costs remain competitive through high productivity and reduced rework on site, making the local a critical partner for mechanical primes and specialty sheet metal subcontractors operating in the northern New York metropolitan area.
Based on the figures effective October 21, 2022, the journeyman hourly rate is established at $48.77. While the supplied data lists the total package at the same figure, typical SMART agreements further divide the gross compensation into distinct fringe benefits including health insurance and pension contributions. Readers should contact the Local 38 business office to confirm the specific allocation of these fringes and any subsequent inflationary adjustments. Apprentices in the five-year program generally start at a percentage of the journeyman rate, often beginning near 40% to 50% and increasing annually or bi-annually as they complete required classroom hours and on-the-job milestones. Reaching full journeyman scale requires successful completion of the JATC curriculum and demonstrating proficiency in fabrication and field installation across various architectural and mechanical applications.
The jurisdiction of SMART Local 38 covers a strategic territory including Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange counties in New York, as well as Fairfield and Litchfield counties in Connecticut. This wide geographic footprint requires members to be mobile, as dispatch can send mechanics to projects ranging from coastal Fairfield to the inland Hudson Valley. The collective bargaining agreement covers all phases of sheet metal work, including the manufacture, assembly, and installation of all HVAC ductwork, louvers, and architectural metal roofing. Because the local bridges the New York and Connecticut state lines, members must be familiar with varying state building codes and licensing requirements, particularly regarding hoisting and rigging and specialty trade licenses required by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.
The contractor landscape for Local 38 is characterized by a mix of large-scale mechanical primes and specialized fabrication shops. Many of these firms operate their own automated coil lines and plasma cutting tables, employing union members in both the shop and the field. The signatory pool includes contractors who specialize in institutional work for school districts and healthcare systems, as well as those focused on private commercial interior fit-outs. Hiring typically fluctuates with the regional bidding cycle, and contractors often look for foremen and journeymen with specific certifications in TAB (Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing) or AWS welding to meet the rigorous specifications of modern building envelopes and high-efficiency mechanical systems.
The apprenticeship covers a comprehensive range of sheet metal skills, including blueprint reading, CAD/BIM modeling, and advanced layout techniques. Apprentices learn to work with various materials such as galvanized steel, copper, and stainless steel. The curriculum also emphasizes safety training, welding certifications, and the proper use of specialized shop machinery for fabricating complex fittings and architectural components.
Yes, Local 38 encourages members to pursue advanced certifications to increase their marketability. This includes certifications in Fire Life Safety (FLS) for damper inspections, Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing (TABB) for airflow optimization, and various AWS welding certifications. These specialized credentials allow members to work on high-spec projects like laboratories and hospitals that require verified system performance.
Since Local 38 covers counties in both New York and Connecticut, members are expected to travel within the full jurisdiction for work. Contractors often move crews across the state line depending on project locations. Members must ensure they meet the specific licensing requirements for the state they are working in, especially in Connecticut, which has distinct trade licensing boards for sheet metal and HVAC work.
Shop mechanics primarily work within a fabrication facility, using plasma cutters, shears, and brakes to build ductwork and fittings from shop drawings. Field installers take those fabricated pieces to the job site to hang and connect the systems. While many members are proficient in both environments, some specialize in one area, and the collective bargaining agreement ensures uniform standards and protections for both roles.
SMART Local 38 is seated in Westchester & Rockland, New York (NY). We hold published wage sheets for 27 locals across New York — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Westchester & Rockland and the rest of New York, including contractors signatory to SMART Local 38. 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 38 pay scale is $48.77 per hour for journeymen in Westchester & Rockland, NY, or about $97,540 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $48.77 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
Journeyman sheet metal workers under the SMART Local 38 agreement make $48.77 an hour in base wages, or $48.77 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 10/21/22. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$48.77 per hour base wage and $48.77 per hour total package for a journeyman in Westchester & Rockland, NY, effective 10/21/22. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $97,540 before overtime.
A Local 38 apprentice in Westchester & Rockland, NY starts at roughly $21.95 an hour — about 45% of the $48.77 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $36.58 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 38 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $21.95 an hour, or roughly $43,893 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $48.77 journeyman rate effective 10/21/22. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $31.70 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $36.58 an hour in the fourth period and $48.77 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 38 training center.
The current SMART Local 38 journeyman rate is $48.77/hour, with a total package of $48.77/hour including fringe benefits, effective 10/21/22. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $97,540 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 38 business office before relying on the figure.
The $48.77/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $48.77/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 38 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 $48.77/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $21.95–$24.39/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
SMART Local 38 is headquartered in Westchester & Rockland, NY 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 38 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 38 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 38 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 38 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 10/21/22 schedule; check with the Local 38 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 38 against neighboring jurisdictions and other sheet metal workers markets.
The SMART Local 38 hall is at Pob 119 / 38 Starr Ridge Rd Brewster NY 10509, serving Westchester & Rockland, NY and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: (845) 278-6868.
SMART Local 38 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at (845) 278-6868 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 38 can be reached at (845) 278-6868. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.