Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 198 in Baton Rouge, LA earn $32.42/hr in base wages, or $48.92/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Dec 2022. This sheet is more than 2 years old, so confirm the current rate with the hall before quoting it.
The Local 198 pay scale is $32.42 per hour for journeymen in Baton Rouge, LA, or about $64,840 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $48.92 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
| Local 198 journeyman hourly wage | $32.42 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $48.92 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $64,840 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $14.59–$16.21 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 2022-12-08 |
| Classification | PLUMBER |
Apply now — Gulfstream places plumbers & pipefitters candidates with mechanical contractors. These are direct-hire contractor roles, not union dispatch.
A Local 198 apprentice in Baton Rouge, LA starts at roughly $14.59 an hour — about 45% of the $32.42 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $24.32 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 198 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $14.59 / hour | $29,178 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $17.83 / hour | $35,662 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $21.07 / hour | $42,146 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $24.32 / hour | $48,630 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $27.56 / hour | $55,114 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $32.42 / hour | $64,840 |
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UA Local 198 runs its own dispatch and out-of-work list — hall hours above are from the local's official site; call the hall to confirm dispatch procedure, books and what to bring. Gulfstream is a private recruiter and does not control hall referral.
UA Local 198 does not post an online application we could verify; contact the hall by phone for dispatch or apprenticeship. To be considered for direct-hire roles with mechanical, electrical and sheet metal contractors in this area, apply to Gulfstream. This is not an application to the union.
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Local 198 wages for 2022: $32.42 an hour on the journeyman scale, $48.92 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 2022-12-08. That is the most recent Baton Rouge, LA sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Roughly 34% of the UA Local 198 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.
Verified from official source: U.S. DOL Davis-Bacon Wage Determination LA20260035
Download the UA Local 198 pay scale (PDF) — one-page printable rate sheet, effective December 8, 2022.
| Benefit & fringe contributions | $16.50/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 198 scale used across the Baton Rouge, LA area. Members dispatched out of this hall work commercial mechanical and process piping, chiller and boiler work, HVAC piping and hydronics and service, retrofit and shutdown work for signatory contractors throughout the Baton Rouge metro, so a pipefitters wage quoted locally is normally this scale plus the fringe package shown in the table.
Gulfstream recruits pipefitters talent for commercial mechanical, plumbing, piping, sheet metal and building automation contractors in and around Baton Rouge. We are a private recruiting firm — we do not dispatch, set, or negotiate Local 198 rates. For current Baton Rouge scale, dispatch standing, or apprenticeship intake, contact the hall directly.
UA Local 198 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 225-356-3333 to confirm dispatch procedure, 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 198 represents skilled plumbers, pipefitters, and welders across the Baton Rouge metropolitan area and the heavy industrial corridors of the Gulf Coast. As a cornerstone of Louisiana’s industrial labor force, this local provides the specialized manpower required for the region’s massive petrochemical infrastructure, refineries, and commercial construction projects. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored this market as a critical hub for high-pressure piping and complex mechanical systems. The membership is central to maintaining the operational integrity of the state's energy sector while supporting large-scale municipal and institutional plumbing developments throughout its chartered territory.
The market served by Local 198 is uniquely defined by its concentration of industrial signatory contractors who manage long-term maintenance turnarounds and capital expansion projects. Because Baton Rouge sits at a strategic point for river-based commerce and chemical processing, the local focuses heavily on rigorous welding certifications and safety standards. Apprentices and journeymen undergo continuous training to meet the evolving demands of advanced manufacturing and green energy transitions. For contractors and tradespeople, Local 198 functions as a central clearinghouse for certified labor, ensuring that project timelines are met with personnel who possess verified credentials in process piping, hydronics, and high-standard medical gas systems.
Specific hourly wage rates for UA Local 198 are not publicly listed and must be obtained directly from the Business Manager's office or through the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. In a standard UA progression, the total package includes a base taxable wage supplemented by employer-paid benefits. Apprentices typically begin at a set percentage of the journeyman rate, often starting between 45% and 55%, with incremental raises every six to twelve months as they complete required classroom hours and on-the-job training milestones. These scheduled increases continue until the individual passes the journeyman exam. For the most accurate and up-to-date scale, including current fringe benefit allocations, parties should contact the Local 198 financial secretary.
The jurisdiction of UA Local 198 covers a significant portion of Southeast Louisiana, centered in Baton Rouge and extending into the surrounding industrial parishes. This territory encompasses work on industrial facilities, commercial office buildings, hospitals, and educational institutions. The charter allows the local to dispatch members to diverse jobsites ranging from the Mississippi River industrial corridor to suburban development zones. Members are expected to travel within this multi-parish area to reach signatory job sites. The work covered under the agreement includes the installation, maintenance, and repair of all piping systems, including high-pressure steam, chilled water, sanitary drainage, and process piping used in manufacturing environments.
The signatory contractor landscape for Local 198 is dominated by large-scale industrial mechanical firms that specialize in refinery maintenance and heavy industrial construction. These prime contractors often manage multi-year service agreements with global energy companies located along the river. Additionally, the local partners with regional commercial mechanical contractors who handle plumbing and HVAC piping for the area's healthcare systems and public works projects. Hiring cycles are often influenced by seasonal industrial turnarounds and large capital projects, leading to periods of high demand for certified welders and pipefitters. Contractors benefit from a centralized dispatch system that provides pre-screened, drug-tested, and highly skilled craftsmen on demand.
Given the heavy industrial presence in Baton Rouge, UA welding certifications (such as 21, 22, and 60) are highly prized. Certifications in medical gas, orbital welding, and riggings are also frequently required for work in the region's healthcare facilities and chemical plants. Members are encouraged to utilize the JATC training facility to maintain these credentials.
During industrial turnarounds or 'shutdowns,' Local 198 coordinates with signatory primes to provide a large influx of manpower for short-term, high-intensity maintenance windows. These periods often involve significant overtime and require a high volume of skilled pipefitters and welders to ensure the refinery or plant returns to service on schedule.
Yes, UA members in good standing from other locals can generally request a travel letter to work within Local 198's jurisdiction if there is a call for labor. For a permanent transfer of the book, members must follow the UA Constitution guidelines, which typically involve securing a job and gaining approval from the Local 198 Executive Board.
The apprenticeship program typically lasts five years. It combines thousands of hours of on-the-job training under the supervision of journeymen with mandatory evening or weekend classroom instruction. This comprehensive approach ensures that graduates are fully prepared to handle the complex piping systems found in both the commercial and industrial sectors of Louisiana.
UA Local 198 is seated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (LA). We hold published wage sheets for 12 locals across Louisiana — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
Gulfstream Strategic Placements recruits mechanical construction and service staff for contractors nationwide, union and open shop. These are markets where we run the most searches: Bay Area mechanical recruiter · Las Vegas mechanical recruiter · Sacramento mechanical recruiter · Denver mechanical recruiter. Post a role.
We are a commercial mechanical construction recruiting firm serving Baton Rouge and the rest of Louisiana, including contractors signatory to UA Local 198. 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 198 pay scale is $32.42 per hour for journeymen in Baton Rouge, LA, or about $64,840 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $48.92 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
UA Local 198 wages: journeyman Plumbers & Pipefitters rate of $32.42 per hour in Baton Rouge, LA, with a total package of $48.92 per hour including fringe benefits, effective 2022-12-08. Apprentices are paid a graduated percentage of that rate. Confirm any increase since 2022-12-08 with the UA Local 198 business office.
The UA Local 198 wage sheet on this page lists the journeyman scale of $32.42 per hour ($48.92 per hour total package), effective 2022-12-08, plus the apprentice percentage steps. The official sheet is published by the UA Local 198 business office; figures here come from that published schedule, so confirm any increase dated after 2022-12-08 with the hall.
Local 198 apprentices earn a graduated percentage of the $32.42 per hour journeyman rate — typically starting near 40–50% ($14.59–$16.21 per hour) in the first period and stepping up each period to 100% at turnout. The exact percentage schedule is set by the UA Local 198 JATC, so confirm the current apprentice sheet with the training center.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 198 agreement make $32.42 an hour in base wages, or $48.92 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 2022-12-08. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$32.42 per hour base wage and $48.92 per hour total package for a journeyman in Baton Rouge, LA, effective 2022-12-08. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $64,840 before overtime.
A Local 198 apprentice in Baton Rouge, LA starts at roughly $14.59 an hour — about 45% of the $32.42 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $24.32 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 198 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $14.59 an hour, or roughly $29,178 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $32.42 journeyman rate effective 2022-12-08. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $21.07 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $24.32 an hour in the fourth period and $32.42 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 198 training center.
Local 198 wages for 2022: $32.42 an hour on the journeyman scale, $48.92 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 2022-12-08. That is the most recent Baton Rouge, LA sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
The current published UA Local 198 journeyman rate is $32.42 an hour ($48.92 total package), effective 2022-12-08 — roughly $64,840 a year at 2,080 hours before overtime. It is the rate in force for 2022 unless the local has since ratified a new agreement.
Yes — a one-page printable UA Local 198 rate sheet is available at /rate-sheets/ua-local-198-pay-scale.pdf, showing the $32.42 hourly scale, the $48.92 total package and the 2022-12-08 effective date, with the source it was read from. It is a free download — no sign-up needed.
The current UA Local 198 journeyman rate is $32.42/hour, with a total package of $48.92/hour including fringe benefits, effective 2022-12-08. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $64,840 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 198 business office before relying on the figure.
The $32.42/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $48.92/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 198 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 $32.42/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $14.59–$16.21/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 198 is headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA 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 198 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 198 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 198 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 198 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 2022-12-08 schedule; check with the Local 198 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 198 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
Yes — the openings section on this page lists current plumbers & pipefitters roles near Baton Rouge, LA, and you can apply directly through the apply form on this page. These are direct-hire positions with mechanical contractors that Gulfstream recruits for, not union dispatch or hall referrals. For the hall's out-of-work list, contact the Local 198 business office.
The UA Local 198 hall is at 5888 Airline Hwy Baton Rouge, LA 70805, serving Baton Rouge, LA and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 225-356-3333. The hall office is open Mon–Thu 7:00 AM–4:30 PM, Fri 7:00 AM–12:00 PM (per the local's official site).
The UA Local 198 hall office is open Mon–Thu 7:00 AM–4:30 PM, Fri 7:00 AM–12:00 PM, as published on the local's official website. Dispatch and out-of-work list procedures can differ from office hours — call 225-356-3333 to confirm before traveling in.
UA Local 198 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 225-356-3333 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 198 can be reached at 225-356-3333. The hall office is open Mon–Thu 7:00 AM–4:30 PM, Fri 7:00 AM–12:00 PM, per the local's official site.
Apply through the local's joint apprenticeship training committee (JATC). Most programs open applications on a set schedule and require an aptitude test and interview. For UA Local 198's current application window and requirements, contact the hall at 225-356-3333.
Each Plumbers & Pipefitters local sets its own intake process, and it varies. The common paths: apprenticeship through the JATC; organizing in as an experienced worker, since journeymen and technicians already working in the trade can usually apply directly to the hall for membership; or transferring from another local of the same international with a transfer card from your current hall. For fees and requirements, contact the hall at 225-356-3333.
We haven't found an official source for UA Local 198's dues or membership rules. To confirm, contact the hall at 225-356-3333.
We haven't found an official source for UA Local 198's member benefits. To confirm, contact the hall at 225-356-3333.
UA Local 198's sourced plumber union rate is $32.42/hr in base wages and $48.92/hr for the total package, effective December 8, 2022. The rate applies to the listed classification and source area; apprentice, foreman and specialty classifications may differ.
$32.42/hr in base wages for plumber, or $48.92/hr counting employer-paid benefits and fringes, effective December 8, 2022 per the U.S. DOL Davis-Bacon Wage Determination LA20260035 wage determination.
December 8, 2022. U.S. DOL Davis-Bacon Wage Determination LA20260035 still carries this rate, but the negotiated line is over three years old and a new CBA cycle is almost certainly in force. Treat it as a floor, not a quote — call the local for the current step.
No — the $32.42/hr base is wages only. Employers contribute roughly $16.50/hr more per hour worked to health and welfare, pension, annuity and training funds, which is the difference between the base and the $48.92/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.
Stale — verify — last cross-checked against the source on Oct 5, 2026 (14 days ago). Always confirm the current step with the hall before relying on it for an offer.