Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 234 in Jacksonville, FL earn $35/hr in base wages, or $50.50/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Mar 2024.
UA Local 234 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 234 pay scale is $35.00 per hour for journeymen in Jacksonville, FL, or about $70,000 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $50.50 per hour. That is the rate in force, effective 3/11/24.
| Local 234 journeyman hourly wage | $35.00 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $50.50 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $70,000 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $15.75–$17.50 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 3/11/24 |
| Classification | Combo |
A Local 234 apprentice in Jacksonville, FL starts at roughly $15.75 an hour — about 45% of the $35.00 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $26.25 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 234 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $15.75 / hour | $31,500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $19.25 / hour | $38,500 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $22.75 / hour | $45,500 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $26.25 / hour | $52,500 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $29.75 / hour | $59,500 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $35.00 / hour | $70,000 |
UA Local 234 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 904-786-0941 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 234 represents skilled plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians across Northeast Florida. Based in Jacksonville, this local provides the specialized workforce required for the region's diverse industrial and commercial infrastructure. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has tracked the signatory landscape in this market, noting that Local 234 members are essential to maintaining the high standards of the piping trades in complex environments ranging from naval facilities to healthcare campuses. The local operates a comprehensive training center designed to keep its members current on the latest welding certifications and mechanical technologies used by top-tier contractors.
The Jacksonville market serves as a critical hub for maritime, logistical, and medical construction, placing Local 234 in a strategic position within the Florida panhandle and coastal regions. As the metropolitan area expands, the demand for licensed pipe trades professionals grows alongside it. Local 234 ensures that its signatory partners have access to a pool of craftspeople who have completed rigorous five-year apprenticeship programs. This commitment to quality and safety is a cornerstone of the local's value proposition to the mechanical contracting industry, facilitating the successful completion of large-scale public and private sector projects that define the regional skyline and industrial capacity.
Effective March 11, 2024, the journeyman hourly rate for UA Local 234 is set at $35.00, contributing to a total employer-paid package of $50.50 per hour. This $15.50 fringe benefit spread covers essential protections including healthcare and retirement security. Apprentices entering the program start at a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically beginning around 45% to 50% for first-year students. As apprentices complete their required on-the-job training hours and classroom modules at the JATC, they receive scheduled incremental raises. By the fifth year, an apprentice typically earns approximately 80% to 85% of the journeyman scale. This structured progression ensures that pay remains commensurate with the individual's increasing technical proficiency and certifications in welding, brazing, or specialized plumbing systems.
UA Local 234 holds jurisdiction over a significant portion of Northeast Florida, centered in Jacksonville and extending to the surrounding coastal and inland counties. The territory covers all plumbing, pipefitting, and mechanical service work within its chartered boundaries. This includes high-profile commercial developments, industrial process piping at regional manufacturing plants, and critical infrastructure at local military installations. Members dispatched from the Jacksonville hall may work on projects ranging from municipal water treatment facilities to high-rise residential plumbing systems. The agreement dictates that signatory contractors utilize Local 234 labor for all piping installations and maintenance within this geographic footprint, ensuring consistent quality and adherence to Florida's mechanical codes and safety standards across the region.
The contractor landscape for UA Local 234 is comprised of diverse signatory entities, ranging from national mechanical primes to specialized local plumbing firms. These contractors handle the bulk of the region's large-scale industrial piping, commercial HVAC installations, and heavy mechanical service contracts. The relationship between the local and its signatory partners is governed by a collective bargaining agreement that stabilizes labor costs and ensures a steady supply of qualified manpower. Hiring is typically managed through the local's referral system, allowing contractors to scale their workforce based on project demands. This ecosystem supports major developments in the healthcare, aerospace, and maritime sectors which require the precision and certification standards maintained by Local 234 members.
As of March 2024, the total package for a journeyman is $50.50 per hour. This includes the $35.00 hourly check wage plus $15.50 in benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions, and training funds. This package ensures that the employer covers the cost of benefits above and beyond the base hourly pay.
Yes, Local 234 operates a certified training facility where members can obtain and maintain various UA welding certifications. These certifications are essential for industrial work in the Jacksonville market, including power piping and pressure vessel work. The JATC provides the necessary equipment and instruction for members to stay current with industry codes.
UA members in good standing from other locals may seek to travel or transfer into Local 234. This process is governed by the United Association International Constitution. Travelers must typically check in with the Business Manager in Jacksonville and provide their current travel card before being eligible for dispatch in this jurisdiction.
Local 234 members are active on a wide array of projects, including the construction and maintenance of hospitals, schools, and naval station facilities. They also provide specialized piping for the region's manufacturing plants and perform complex mechanical work for Jacksonville's growing commercial and high-rise residential sectors.
UA Local 234 is seated in Jacksonville, Florida (FL). We hold published wage sheets for 16 locals across Florida — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Jacksonville and the rest of Florida, including contractors signatory to UA Local 234. 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 234 pay scale is $35.00 per hour for journeymen in Jacksonville, FL, or about $70,000 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $50.50 per hour. That is the rate in force, effective 3/11/24.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 234 agreement make $35.00 an hour in base wages, or $50.50 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 3/11/24. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$35.00 per hour base wage and $50.50 per hour total package for a journeyman in Jacksonville, FL, effective 3/11/24. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $70,000 before overtime.
A Local 234 apprentice in Jacksonville, FL starts at roughly $15.75 an hour — about 45% of the $35.00 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $26.25 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 234 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $15.75 an hour, or roughly $31,500 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $35.00 journeyman rate effective 3/11/24. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $22.75 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $26.25 an hour in the fourth period and $35.00 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 234 training center.
The current UA Local 234 journeyman rate is $35.00/hour, with a total package of $50.50/hour including fringe benefits, effective 3/11/24. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $70,000 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 234 business office before relying on the figure.
The $35.00/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $50.50/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 234 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 $35.00/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $15.75–$17.50/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 234 is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL 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 234 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 234 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 234 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 234 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 3/11/24 schedule; check with the Local 234 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 234 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 234 hall is at 5411 Cassidy Rd Jacksonville, FL 32254, serving Jacksonville, FL and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 904-786-0941.
UA Local 234 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 904-786-0941 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 234 can be reached at 904-786-0941. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.