Journeyman plumbers under UA Local 17 in Memphis, TN earn $38.82/hr in base wages, or $51.62/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Jul 2026.
UA Local 17 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 17 pay scale for 2026 is $38.82 per hour for journeymen in Memphis, TN, or about $77,640 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $51.62 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 7/26/26.
| Local 17 journeyman hourly wage | $38.82 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $51.62 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $77,640 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $17.47–$19.41 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 7/26/26 |
| Classification | Plumbers |
A Local 17 apprentice in Memphis, TN starts at roughly $17.47 an hour — about 45% of the $38.82 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $29.12 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 17 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $17.47 / hour | $34,938 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $21.35 / hour | $42,702 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $25.23 / hour | $50,466 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $29.12 / hour | $58,230 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $33.00 / hour | $65,994 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $38.82 / hour | $77,640 |
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Local 17 wages: $38.82 an hour on the journeyman scale, $51.62 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 7/26/26. That is the most recent Memphis, TN sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Roughly 25% of the UA Local 17 package is employer-paid benefits and fringes rather than wages, which is why the package figure and a take-home hourly rate are not the same number.
Download the UA Local 17 pay scale (PDF) — one-page printable rate sheet, effective July 26, 2026.
| Benefit & fringe contributions | $12.80/hr | Derived: total package minus base wage. This is the employer's combined hourly contribution to the funds, not take-home pay. |
|---|---|---|
| What the contributions fund | Health & welfare, pension, annuity, training and industry funds | Standard fund categories in mechanical and electrical agreements. The exact split between funds is set in the local's agreement — the hall or fund office publishes the schedule. |
| Paid on | Every hour worked | Fringe contributions are made per hour worked, so they scale with dispatched hours and are paid to the funds rather than to the member. |
The rates above are the UA Local 17 scale used across the Memphis, TN area. Members dispatched out of this hall work commercial plumbing, medical gas and hydronic piping and tenant improvement and service work for signatory contractors throughout the Memphis metro, so a plumbers wage quoted locally is normally this scale plus the fringe package shown in the table.
Gulfstream recruits plumbers talent for commercial mechanical, plumbing, piping, sheet metal and building automation contractors in and around Memphis. We are a private recruiting firm — we do not dispatch, set, or negotiate Local 17 rates. For current Memphis scale, dispatch standing, or apprenticeship intake, contact the hall directly.
UA Local 17 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 901-368-0900 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 17 represents the highly skilled plumbers, pipefitters, and service technicians serving the greater Memphis metropolitan area and its surrounding tri-state corridors. As a central hub for logistics and industrial manufacturing, the Memphis market relies on Local 17 members to maintain critical infrastructure across healthcare facilities, distribution centers, and food processing plants. The local focuses on ensuring a steady supply of certified labor for mechanical contractors engaged in both complex new construction and essential long-term maintenance projects throughout West Tennessee. Since 2014, our team has monitored how this local’s manpower affects project timelines and labor costs for major regional developers and signatory mechanical primes.
The industrial landscape of Memphis provides a diverse work environment for UA Local 17 members, ranging from high-purity piping systems in biotech labs to heavy industrial process piping for the region's manufacturing backbone. Because the jurisdiction sits at a strategic crossroads of the Mississippi River and major rail lines, the demand for qualified pipe trades professionals remains tied to both private sector expansion and public infrastructure upgrades. Members are trained at the local's Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee facility, which ensures that every journeyman possesses the certifications required for medical gas, welding, and advanced instrumentation. This rigorous training protocol makes Local 17 a cornerstone of the regional construction economy.
As of May 26, 2024, the journeyman hourly rate for UA Local 17 is set at $36.00, with a comprehensive total package reaching $47.55 per hour when including fringe benefits. This package represents the negotiated standard for building trades work in the Memphis jurisdiction. Apprentices follow a structured wage progression typically starting at a set percentage of the journeyman rate—often beginning around 50% for first-year students. These rates increase annually as the apprentice completes their classroom hours and on-the-job training milestones. By the fifth year, senior apprentices earn a significant portion of the full scale, reflecting their increased technical proficiency. Contractors should verify the specific percentage tiers for HVAC service versus construction tracks directly with the Local 17 business office to ensure accurate labor forecasting.
UA Local 17 holds a chartered jurisdiction centered in Shelby County, Tennessee, extending across the West Tennessee region and into parts of Northern Mississippi and Eastern Arkansas. The territory covers a significant radius from the Memphis headquarters, encompassing major municipalities and industrial zones along the I-40 and I-55 corridors. Dispatch procedures are governed by the local's hiring hall rules, which prioritize members based on their placement on the out-of-work list and specific certifications required for the job site. Work covered under this agreement includes all aspects of plumbing, pipefitting, steamfitting, and refrigeration service for commercial, industrial, and institutional projects throughout the tri-state area.
The signatory contractor landscape for UA Local 17 consists of approximately 11 tracked firms ranging from large-scale mechanical primes to specialized plumbing service providers. These contractors handle the bulk of the region’s complex mechanical installations, including major hospital expansions and industrial plant turnarounds. The relationship between the union and the Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) of Memphis facilitates a stable labor environment, allowing contractors to scale their workforce rapidly for large-capital projects. Hiring for these firms is typically conducted through the union referral system, ensuring that all personnel on-site meet the high safety and technical standards required for sophisticated mechanical systems in the Memphis market.
The total package as of May 2024 is $47.55 per hour. This includes the $36.00 take-home wage plus $11.55 in fringe benefits like pension and healthcare. Contractors must also factor in their own overhead, insurance, and payroll taxes when calculating a final billable shop rate for Memphis projects.
Yes, Local 17 has a tri-state jurisdiction. While headquartered in Memphis, TN, its charter includes several counties in Eastern Arkansas and Northern Mississippi. This allows signatory contractors to utilize the same skilled labor pool for projects across the state lines in the immediate Memphis metropolitan region.
Wage adjustments are determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated between the UA and the signatory contractors association. These increases usually occur annually or every six months, depending on the specific terms of the multi-year contract, and are distributed between the base wage and fringe funds.
The training facility focuses on UA-specific certifications including ASME welding, Med-Gas, Backflow Prevention, and OSHA safety standards. For the Memphis industrial market, there is also a significant emphasis on orbital welding and instrumentation to serve the needs of the local logistics and pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors.
UA Local 17 is seated in Memphis, Tennessee (TN). We hold published wage sheets for 14 locals across Tennessee — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
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Journeyman scales as last published by each local. Rates change every contract cycle — confirm with the hall.
The Local 17 pay scale for 2026 is $38.82 per hour for journeymen in Memphis, TN, or about $77,640 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $51.62 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 7/26/26.
Journeyman plumbers under the UA Local 17 agreement make $38.82 an hour in base wages, or $51.62 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 7/26/26. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$38.82 per hour base wage and $51.62 per hour total package for a journeyman in Memphis, TN, effective 7/26/26. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $77,640 before overtime.
A Local 17 apprentice in Memphis, TN starts at roughly $17.47 an hour — about 45% of the $38.82 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $29.12 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 17 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $17.47 an hour, or roughly $34,938 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $38.82 journeyman rate effective 7/26/26. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $25.23 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $29.12 an hour in the fourth period and $38.82 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 17 training center.
Local 17 wages: $38.82 an hour on the journeyman scale, $51.62 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 7/26/26. That is the most recent Memphis, TN sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
The current published UA Local 17 journeyman rate is $38.82 an hour ($51.62 total package), effective 7/26/26 — roughly $77,640 a year at 2,080 hours before overtime. Confirm the effective agreement with the local.
Yes — a one-page printable UA Local 17 rate sheet is available at /rate-sheets/ua-local-17-pay-scale.pdf, showing the $38.82 hourly scale, the $51.62 total package and the 7/26/26 effective date, with the source it was read from. It is a free download — no sign-up needed.
The current UA Local 17 journeyman rate is $38.82/hour, with a total package of $51.62/hour including fringe benefits, effective 7/26/26. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $77,640 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 17 business office before relying on the figure.
The $38.82/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $51.62/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 labor costs across locals.
Apprentices under the UA Local 17 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 $38.82/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $17.47–$19.41/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 17 is headquartered in Memphis, TN and dispatches plumbers 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 work. Some Local 17 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 17 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 17 training center directly.
Plumbers 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 17 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 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 7/26/26 schedule; check with the Local 17 business office for any increase that has taken effect since.
We track 11 signatory contractors working under the UA Local 17 agreement, listed on this page with their websites and LinkedIn pages. Signatory shops are the employers legally able to hire Local 17 members and pay the negotiated scale.
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 17 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers markets.
The UA Local 17 hall is at 4229 Prescott Rd Memphis, TN 38118, serving Memphis, TN and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 901-368-0900.
UA Local 17 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 901-368-0900 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 17 can be reached at 901-368-0900. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.
$38.82/hr in base wages for plumbers, or $51.62/hr counting employer-paid benefits and fringes, effective July 26, 2026 per the unionpayscales.com wage sheet.
July 26, 2026. Pulled from the local's current published CBA wage sheet on unionpayscales.com and cross-checked at build time. High confidence for offer benchmarking.
No — the $38.82/hr base is wages only. Employers contribute roughly $12.80/hr more per hour worked to health and welfare, pension, annuity and training funds, which is the difference between the base and the $51.62/hr package.
No. Gulfstream Strategic Placements is a private mechanical construction recruiting firm. We are not affiliated with the local, we do not run dispatch, and we do not set or negotiate union rates. We publish the local's own sourced figures as a reference for members and contractors.
High confidence — last cross-checked against the source on Sep 1, 2026 (13 days ago). Always confirm the current step with the hall before relying on it for an offer.