Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 343 in Vallejo-Napa, CA earn $71.60/hr in base wages, or $111.37/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Aug 2025.
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UA Local 343 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 343 pay scale for 2026 is $71.60 per hour for journeymen in Vallejo-Napa, CA, or about $143,200 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $111.37 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 8/22/25.
| Local 343 journeyman hourly wage | $71.60 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $111.37 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $143,200 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $32.22–$35.80 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 8/22/25 |
| Classification | Steamfitter & Refrigeration Fitter (HVAC) |
A Local 343 apprentice in Vallejo-Napa, CA starts at roughly $32.22 an hour — about 45% of the $71.60 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $53.70 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 343 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $32.22 / hour | $64,440 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $39.38 / hour | $78,760 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $46.54 / hour | $93,080 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $53.70 / hour | $107,400 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $60.86 / hour | $121,720 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $71.60 / hour | $143,200 |
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Local 343 wages: $71.60 an hour on the journeyman scale, $111.37 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 8/22/25. That is the most recent Vallejo-Napa, CA sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Roughly 36% of the UA Local 343 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: California DIR prevailing wage determination NAP-2025-2
Download the UA Local 343 pay scale (PDF) — one-page printable rate sheet, effective August 22, 2025.
| Benefit & fringe contributions | $39.77/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 343 scale used across the Vallejo-Napa, CA 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 Vallejo-Napa 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 Vallejo-Napa. We are a private recruiting firm — we do not dispatch, set, or negotiate Local 343 rates. For current Vallejo-Napa scale, dispatch standing, or apprenticeship intake, contact the hall directly.
UA Local 343 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 707-644-4071 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 343 represents skilled plumbers and pipefitters across the North Bay and Delta regions, serving as a critical labor source for the infrastructure of Solano and Napa counties. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored this market as a hub for both heavy industrial work and high-end commercial development. The local's membership provides specialized expertise in domestic water systems, sanitary drainage, and complex process piping required by the region's diverse industrial base. Because this jurisdiction bridges the gap between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento Valley, it remains a strategic corridor for signatory contractors managing multi-county project portfolios.
The market demand within Local 343's territory is driven by a unique blend of municipal infrastructure, healthcare expansions, and the specialized needs of the local maritime and winery sectors. Signatory mechanical contractors rely on the Local 343 hiring hall to staff projects that require rigorous certifications in welding, medical gas, and backflow prevention. For the tradesperson, this local offers a path to middle-class stability through a collective bargaining agreement that balances high hourly compensation with comprehensive fringe benefits. As California continues to invest in sustainable water management and upgraded public facilities, the role of Local 343 in providing a highly trained, safety-conscious workforce remains central to the region's economic health.
Based on the schedule effective October 21, 2022, the journeyman hourly rate for UA Local 343 is $58.24, contributing to a total package of $92.66 when all fringe benefits are included. This gap of $34.42 per hour covers essential health and retirement funds. Apprentices enter the program at a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting around 40-45% and receiving incremental raises every six to twelve months as they complete required classroom hours and on-the-job training milestones. By the fifth year, senior apprentices earn near-journeyman wages, reflecting their increased autonomy and technical proficiency. These rates are subject to periodic adjustments determined by the membership and the signatory contractor associations during contract negotiations, ensuring that labor costs remain aligned with the regional cost of living and industry standards.
UA Local 343 holds jurisdiction over a vital geographic area centered in Vallejo and Napa, extending throughout Solano and Napa counties. This territory includes major industrial zones, naval infrastructure, and growing residential corridors. The jurisdiction covers all phases of the plumbing and pipefitting industry, from underground utilities to high-pressure steam systems and laboratory piping. Members dispatched from the Vallejo headquarters may work on projects ranging from large-scale refinery maintenance to new commercial construction in the Napa Valley. The local manages travel and dispatch rules according to the master labor agreement, ensuring that contractors have access to qualified local labor while providing members with consistent work opportunities within a manageable commuting radius from the North Bay.
The signatory contractor landscape for UA Local 343 is characterized by a mix of regional mechanical primes and specialized local shops. These firms range from large-scale mechanical contractors capable of executing multi-million dollar industrial projects to smaller, service-oriented plumbing companies that maintain the region's existing commercial stock. Hiring typically fluctuates based on major project starts in the healthcare and public works sectors. Because of the local's proximity to other Bay Area locals, many signatory contractors operate across multiple jurisdictions, allowing for a fluid movement of labor and specialized equipment. This diversity provides members with exposure to various work environments, including high-purity piping, HVAC hydronics, and traditional commercial plumbing systems.
Members have access to a wide array of UA certifications, including ASME pressure vessel welding, medical gas installation, backflow prevention, and various manufacturer-specific equipment training. These certifications are essential for maintaining the high standards required by industrial and healthcare clients in the Solano and Napa markets, ensuring that Local 343 members remain the most qualified workforce in the region.
While the 2022 journeyman rate is $58.24, rates can change due to annual increases or specific project labor agreements. Contractors and members should contact the UA Local 343 business manager or the North Bay Standish Association to request the most recent wage and fringe benefit schedule. This ensures all bids and payroll calculations reflect the current collective bargaining requirements.
Yes, the jurisdiction includes the Napa Valley and the Port of Benicia, which present unique piping challenges. Members often work on specialized stainless steel piping for wineries and complex fluid systems for maritime and refinery infrastructure. This diversity of work allows pipefitters to develop a broad skill set that is highly valued by signatory mechanical primes operating in Northern California.
The apprenticeship is a five-year program that combines rigorous classroom instruction with 8,000 to 10,000 hours of on-the-job training. Apprentices learn the fundamentals of the trade while earning a progressive wage. Upon completion, graduates are elevated to journeyman status, receiving the full hourly scale and becoming eligible to supervise projects and mentor the next generation of tradespeople.
UA Local 343 is seated in Vallejo-Napa, California (CA). We hold published wage sheets for 49 locals across California — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
Gulfstream Strategic Placements recruits mechanical construction and service staff for contractors across California, including shops signatory to UA Local 343. Pick the market closest to your work: Sacramento mechanical recruiter · Orange County mechanical recruiter · Los Angeles mechanical recruiter · San Diego mechanical recruiter · Inland Empire mechanical recruiter · Bay Area mechanical recruiter.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Vallejo-Napa and the rest of California, including contractors signatory to UA Local 343. 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 343 pay scale for 2026 is $71.60 per hour for journeymen in Vallejo-Napa, CA, or about $143,200 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $111.37 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 8/22/25.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 343 agreement make $71.60 an hour in base wages, or $111.37 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 8/22/25. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$71.60 per hour base wage and $111.37 per hour total package for a journeyman in Vallejo-Napa, CA, effective 8/22/25. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $143,200 before overtime.
A Local 343 apprentice in Vallejo-Napa, CA starts at roughly $32.22 an hour — about 45% of the $71.60 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $53.70 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 343 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $32.22 an hour, or roughly $64,440 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $71.60 journeyman rate effective 8/22/25. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $46.54 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $53.70 an hour in the fourth period and $71.60 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 343 training center.
Local 343 wages: $71.60 an hour on the journeyman scale, $111.37 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 8/22/25. That is the most recent Vallejo-Napa, CA sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
The current published UA Local 343 journeyman rate is $71.60 an hour ($111.37 total package), effective 8/22/25 — roughly $143,200 a year at 2,080 hours before overtime. Confirm the effective agreement with the local.
Yes — a one-page printable UA Local 343 rate sheet is available at /rate-sheets/ua-local-343-pay-scale.pdf, showing the $71.60 hourly scale, the $111.37 total package and the 8/22/25 effective date, with the source it was read from. It is a free download — no sign-up needed.
The current UA Local 343 journeyman rate is $71.60/hour, with a total package of $111.37/hour including fringe benefits, effective 8/22/25. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $143,200 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 343 business office before relying on the figure.
The $71.60/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $111.37/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 343 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 $71.60/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $32.22–$35.80/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 343 is headquartered in Vallejo-Napa, CA 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 343 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 343 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 343 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 343 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 8/22/25 schedule; check with the Local 343 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 343 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 343 hall is at 220 Peabody Rd Vacaville, CA 95687, serving Vallejo-Napa, CA and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 707-644-4071.
UA Local 343 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 707-644-4071 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 343 can be reached at 707-644-4071. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.
$71.60/hr in base wages for steamfitter & refrigeration fitter (hvac), or $111.37/hr counting employer-paid benefits and fringes, effective August 22, 2025 per the California DIR prevailing wage determination NAP-2025-2 wage determination.
August 22, 2025. Read directly from the primary source (California DIR prevailing wage determination NAP-2025-2) and cross-checked at build time. Highest confidence for offer benchmarking.
No — the $71.60/hr base is wages only. Employers contribute roughly $39.77/hr more per hour worked to health and welfare, pension, annuity and training funds, which is the difference between the base and the $111.37/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 19, 2026 (11 days ago). Always confirm the current step with the hall before relying on it for an offer.