Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 125 in Cedar Rapids, IA earn $47.18/hr in base wages, or $69.78/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Jun 2026.
UA Local 125 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 125 pay scale for 2026 is $47.18 per hour for journeymen in Cedar Rapids, IA, or about $94,360 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $69.78 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 6/26/26.
| Local 125 journeyman hourly wage | $47.18 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $69.78 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $94,360 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $21.23–$23.59 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 6/26/26 |
| Classification | Combo |
A Local 125 apprentice in Cedar Rapids, IA starts at roughly $21.23 an hour — about 45% of the $47.18 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $35.39 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 125 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $21.23 / hour | $42,462 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $25.95 / hour | $51,898 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $30.67 / hour | $61,334 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $35.39 / hour | $70,770 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $40.10 / hour | $80,206 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $47.18 / hour | $94,360 |
UA Local 125 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 319-365-0413 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.
United Association Local 125 represents skilled plumbers, pipefitters, and HVACR technicians across a significant portion of East Central Iowa, anchored by the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area. Since 2014, our observations of this market indicate that Local 125 serves as a primary labor source for the region's heavy industrial and commercial sectors. The local manages a diverse portfolio of work ranging from sophisticated piping systems in food processing facilities to essential plumbing infrastructure in healthcare and educational institutions. Membership in this local provides access to standardized collective bargaining agreements that ensure consistent labor costs for contractors and stable career paths for tradespeople.
The Cedar Rapids market is characterized by a strong presence of agricultural processing and manufacturing, which demands high-precision pipefitting and rigorous safety standards. UA Local 125 members are trained to meet these demands through a comprehensive Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee program. By maintaining a steady pipeline of journey-level talent, the local supports the regional economy's growth, particularly in the tech and industrial corridors. For contractors, partnering with this local means accessing a workforce that is certified in specialized welding, medical gas installation, and advanced HVACR diagnostics, ensuring that large-scale mechanical projects are completed to code and on schedule.
Based on the figures effective June 26, 2026, the Journeyman hourly rate for UA Local 125 is established at $47.18, contributing to a total compensation package of $69.78 when fringe benefits are included. Apprentices enter the program at a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting around 45% to 50% and receiving incremental raises every six to twelve months as they complete required classroom hours and on-the-job training milestones. By the fifth and final year of the apprenticeship, workers often earn 80% to 90% of the full scale. This structured progression ensures that labor costs scale with the individual's proficiency and certifications, providing a predictable path for both the employee and the signatory mechanical primes managing project budgets.
The chartered jurisdiction for UA Local 125 covers a multi-county region in East Central Iowa centered around Linn County. This territory includes major hubs like Cedar Rapids and extends into surrounding rural areas to cover industrial sites and commercial developments. Members dispatched from the Cedar Rapids hall may work on projects involving process piping, high-pressure steam, hydronic heating, and sanitary plumbing systems. The agreement dictates specific travel and subsistence rules for jobsites located outside a certain radius from the city center. This geographic coverage ensures that signatory contractors have a reliable labor pool for projects across the Interstate 380 corridor and the neighboring agricultural manufacturing zones.
The signatory landscape for UA Local 125 is comprised of a mix of large-scale mechanical primes and specialized service contractors. These firms handle the bulk of the region's industrial maintenance, new commercial construction, and essential infrastructure upgrades. We track a variety of employers in this market who rely on the local's hiring hall to scale their workforce according to project demands. The presence of significant food manufacturing and bio-processing plants in the area means many signatory contractors specialize in stainless steel piping and high-purity process systems. This creates a stable environment for technicians seeking consistent work in heavy commercial and industrial mechanical sectors.
UA Local 125 represents a broad spectrum of the piping industry, including licensed plumbers, industrial pipefitters, certified welders, and HVACR service technicians. Their members are qualified for work in residential, commercial, and heavy industrial settings, with specialized training available for medical gas systems, high-pressure steam, and instrumentation.
The hourly wage of $47.18 is the take-home pay reflected on a member's paycheck before taxes. The total package of $69.78 includes an additional $22.60 per hour paid by the contractor into fringe benefits such as pension, health insurance, and training funds, which are not deducted from the base wage.
Travel opportunities within Local 125 depend heavily on local project volume, particularly during major industrial outages or large-scale plant expansions. When the local out-of-work list is exhausted, the business manager may call for travelers from other UA locals. All travelers must report to the hall and provide current credentials.
Local 125 provides training and testing for a wide range of United Association welding certifications, including UA-21 and UA-22. These certifications are essential for work in the region's agricultural and chemical processing plants, where high-pressure piping and specialized alloy welding are frequently required to meet safety and quality standards.
UA Local 125 is seated in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA). We hold published wage sheets for 9 locals across Iowa — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Cedar Rapids and the rest of Iowa, including contractors signatory to UA Local 125. Our office is in South Corona, California and we place union-scale tradespeople and field leadership nationwide.
Gulfstream Strategic Placements, 4160 Temescal Canyon Road, Suite 401, Corona, CA 92883. Phone (951) 208-7780. Email hello@gulfstreamsp.com. Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM–5:00 PM Pacific.View our verified Google Business Profile
Journeyman scales as last published by each local. Rates change every contract cycle — confirm with the hall.
The Local 125 pay scale for 2026 is $47.18 per hour for journeymen in Cedar Rapids, IA, or about $94,360 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $69.78 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 6/26/26.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 125 agreement make $47.18 an hour in base wages, or $69.78 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 6/26/26. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$47.18 per hour base wage and $69.78 per hour total package for a journeyman in Cedar Rapids, IA, effective 6/26/26. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $94,360 before overtime.
A Local 125 apprentice in Cedar Rapids, IA starts at roughly $21.23 an hour — about 45% of the $47.18 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $35.39 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 125 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $21.23 an hour, or roughly $42,462 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $47.18 journeyman rate effective 6/26/26. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $30.67 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $35.39 an hour in the fourth period and $47.18 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 125 training center.
The current UA Local 125 journeyman rate is $47.18/hour, with a total package of $69.78/hour including fringe benefits, effective 6/26/26. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $94,360 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 125 business office before relying on the figure.
The $47.18/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $69.78/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 plumbers & pipefitters labor costs across locals.
Apprentices under the UA Local 125 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 $47.18/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $21.23–$23.59/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 125 is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA and dispatches plumbers & pipefitters 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 plumbers & pipefitters work. Some Local 125 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 UA Local 125 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 125 training center directly.
Plumbers & Pipefitters 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 UA Local 125 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 plumbers & pipefitters 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 6/26/26 schedule; check with the Local 125 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 125 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 125 hall is at Po Box 1091 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406, serving Cedar Rapids, IA and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 319-365-0413.
UA Local 125 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 319-365-0413 to confirm dispatch hours, required documents (union card, certifications, ID) and current list standing before traveling in — Gulfstream does not control hall dispatch.
UA Local 125 can be reached at 319-365-0413. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.