Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 357 in Kalamazoo, MI earn $37.10/hr in base wages, or $60.35/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Oct 2022. This sheet is more than 2 years old, so confirm the current rate with the hall before quoting it.
UA Local 357 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 357 pay scale is $37.10 per hour for journeymen in Kalamazoo, MI, or about $74,200 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $60.35 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
| Local 357 journeyman hourly wage | $37.10 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $60.35 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $74,200 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $16.70–$18.55 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 10/21/22 |
| Classification | Combo |
A Local 357 apprentice in Kalamazoo, MI starts at roughly $16.70 an hour — about 45% of the $37.10 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $27.83 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 357 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $16.70 / hour | $33,390 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $20.41 / hour | $40,810 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $24.12 / hour | $48,230 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $27.83 / hour | $55,650 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $31.54 / hour | $63,070 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $37.10 / hour | $74,200 |
UA Local 357 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 269-679-2570 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.
UA Local 357, headquartered in Kalamazoo, represents the skilled plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC service technicians serving the Southwest Michigan corridor. Since 2014, our recruitment data has tracked this local as a critical hub for industrial and institutional infrastructure in the region. The union provides a highly trained workforce for diverse sectors including pharmaceutical manufacturing, food processing, and the massive educational facilities found in the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek area. By maintaining high standards for craftsmanship and safety, the local ensures that regional signatory mechanical primes have access to the labor necessary to complete complex piping systems and large-scale plumbing installations.
The market for Local 357 pipefitters and plumbers is driven by the consistent demand for facility maintenance and new construction within the life sciences and higher education sectors. Because this jurisdiction includes significant industrial assets, the work often involves high-purity piping, medical gas systems, and heavy industrial process piping. For the tradesperson, this means a stable environment with opportunities for specialized certifications that are highly valued in the local labor market. For contractors, the local represents a streamlined pipeline for pre-apprentice and journeyman labor, ensuring that projects are staffed with workers who meet the rigorous UA national standards.
The UA Local 357 pay scale for journeymen is set at an hourly rate of $37.10, effective as of October 21, 2022. When including the comprehensive fringe benefit package, the total compensation reaches $60.35 per hour. 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 year, senior apprentices earn a high percentage of the full rate, often exceeding 80% before passing their licensing exam. This structured progression ensures that labor costs remain predictable for signatory contractors while providing a clear path to middle-class earnings for those entering the pipe trades in Southwest Michigan.
The chartered jurisdiction for UA Local 357 covers several counties across Southwest Michigan, ensuring localized dispatch for members living in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek metropolitan areas. The work governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement includes the installation, maintenance, and repair of all piping systems, plumbing fixtures, and HVAC-R equipment within commercial, industrial, and residential settings. While the local is based in Kalamazoo, members may be dispatched to job sites across the surrounding rural counties and neighboring industrial zones. The local maintains strict jurisdiction over all pipe-related work, including welding, victaulic systems, and specialized industrial rigging required for large mechanical equipment placement.
The contractor landscape for UA Local 357 is comprised of a mix of large signatory mechanical primes and specialized local plumbing firms. These contractors handle everything from multi-million dollar industrial builds to small-scale commercial service contracts. Because Kalamazoo is a hub for the pharmaceutical and food production industries, many signatory firms focus on high-spec industrial piping and automated systems. Hiring typically fluctuates based on major capital projects at regional universities and manufacturing plants. Members are dispatched through the hiring hall, ensuring that contractors can scale their workforces rapidly to meet project deadlines without sacrificing the quality of the technical installation.
As of the October 2022 update, the journeyman hourly wage is $37.10, with a total package of $60.35 including fringes. These rates are subject to annual adjustments based on the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Members should verify the most recent wage circular through the union hall for any mid-year shifts or new allocations.
Local 357 represents a variety of skilled piping professionals including plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, and HVAC-R service technicians. This range allows the local to staff complete mechanical projects, from underground utility plumbing to complex rooftop HVAC units and high-pressure steam systems used in industrial processing plants throughout Southwest Michigan.
Travelers and transfers are generally handled according to the United Association's national constitution. A member in good standing from another local must typically contact the Local 357 Business Manager before seeking work in the jurisdiction. Acceptance of transfers often depends on local work volume and the current bench strength of the local membership.
Members are frequently deployed to large-scale institutional projects such as Western Michigan University upgrades, pharmaceutical laboratory expansions, and regional hospital renovations. They also support the food and beverage manufacturing sector in Battle Creek, performing critical maintenance and system upgrades that require certified welding and sanitary piping expertise.
UA Local 357 is seated in Kalamazoo, Michigan (MI). We hold published wage sheets for 22 locals across Michigan — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Kalamazoo and the rest of Michigan, including contractors signatory to UA Local 357. 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 357 pay scale is $37.10 per hour for journeymen in Kalamazoo, MI, or about $74,200 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $60.35 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 357 agreement make $37.10 an hour in base wages, or $60.35 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 10/21/22. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$37.10 per hour base wage and $60.35 per hour total package for a journeyman in Kalamazoo, MI, effective 10/21/22. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $74,200 before overtime.
A Local 357 apprentice in Kalamazoo, MI starts at roughly $16.70 an hour — about 45% of the $37.10 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $27.83 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 357 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $16.70 an hour, or roughly $33,390 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $37.10 journeyman rate effective 10/21/22. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $24.12 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $27.83 an hour in the fourth period and $37.10 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 357 training center.
The current UA Local 357 journeyman rate is $37.10/hour, with a total package of $60.35/hour including fringe benefits, effective 10/21/22. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $74,200 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 357 business office before relying on the figure.
The $37.10/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $60.35/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 357 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 $37.10/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $16.70–$18.55/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 357 is headquartered in Kalamazoo, MI 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 357 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 357 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 357 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 357 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 10/21/22 schedule; check with the Local 357 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 357 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 357 hall is at 11847 Shaver Rd Schoolcraft, MI 49087, serving Kalamazoo, MI and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 269-679-2570.
UA Local 357 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 269-679-2570 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 357 can be reached at 269-679-2570. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.