Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 400 in Appleton, WI earn $49.85/hr in base wages, or $69.69/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Dec 2023. This sheet is more than 2 years old, so confirm the current rate with the hall before quoting it.
UA Local 400 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 400 pay scale is $49.85 per hour for journeymen in Appleton, WI, or about $99,700 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $69.69 per hour. That is the last wage sheet we can source for this local — confirm the current rate with the hall.
| Local 400 journeyman hourly wage | $49.85 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $69.69 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $99,700 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $22.43–$24.93 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 12/15/23 |
| Classification | Combo |
A Local 400 apprentice in Appleton, WI starts at roughly $22.43 an hour — about 45% of the $49.85 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $37.39 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 400 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $22.43 / hour | $44,865 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $27.42 / hour | $54,835 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $32.40 / hour | $64,805 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $37.39 / hour | $74,775 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $42.37 / hour | $84,745 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $49.85 / hour | $99,700 |
UA Local 400 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 920-462-0400 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 400, headquartered in Kaukauna near Appleton, represents more than 2,000 highly skilled plumbers, pipefitters, HVAC service technicians, and fabricators across Northeast Wisconsin. This union is central to the region’s industrial and commercial infrastructure, providing labor for critical sectors including paper mills, food processing plants, and healthcare facilities. By maintaining high standards for safety and technical proficiency, the local ensures that signatory contractors have access to a workforce capable of executing complex piping systems and mechanical installations that drive the Fox Valley economy. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored this market as a hub for both heavy industrial maintenance and new commercial development.
The market surrounding Appleton and the Green Bay area is unique due to the concentration of manufacturing and specialized fabrication shops. UA Local 400 members work under a collective bargaining agreement that standardizes labor costs and working conditions, providing stability for both the tradespeople and the mechanical primes operating in the territory. The local's jurisdiction covers a significant portion of the state, stretching from the Fox Cities up through the Door Peninsula and west toward the central plains. This geographic reach requires a robust dispatch system to staff projects ranging from small-scale plumbing renovations to massive industrial outages and multi-year hospital expansions that define the regional construction landscape.
As of the December 15, 2023 update, the Journeyman hourly rate for UA Local 400 is set at $49.85, contributing to a total compensation package of $69.69 per hour when fringe benefits are included. 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 near-journeyman wages. 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 piping trades in the Fox Valley region. These figures represent the standard building trades scale; however, specific residential or light commercial rates should be verified directly with the business office.
UA Local 400 maintains jurisdiction over eighteen counties in Northeast Wisconsin, centered around the Appleton and Green Bay metropolitan areas. The territory encompasses a mix of high-density urban zones and rural industrial corridors. Covered work includes the installation, maintenance, and repair of all piping systems, including high-pressure steam, medical gas, potable water, and industrial process lines. Members dispatched through the Kaukauna hall may be required to travel throughout the Fox River Valley or up to the northern lakeside communities depending on project demand. The agreement covers all phases of construction from underground utility work to the final trim and commissioning of mechanical systems in commercial and industrial settings.
The contractor landscape for UA Local 400 is diverse, featuring a high concentration of specialized a mechanical contractor contractors and mechanical primes. Because the Fox Valley is a global leader in paper and tissue manufacturing, many signatory firms focus heavily on industrial process piping and large-scale fabrication. There is also a strong presence of commercial plumbing contractors who handle the region's healthcare and educational facility needs. Hiring typically follows the project lifecycle, with significant manpower spikes during planned industrial shutdowns or large-scale municipal builds. Signatory contractors benefit from the local's centralized training, which produces welders and fitters specifically certified for the high-pressure environments common in Wisconsin's manufacturing sector.
The $49.85 hourly wage is the gross amount paid on the member's paycheck before taxes. The $69.69 total package includes an additional $19.84 per hour in employer-paid benefits, such as health insurance and pension contributions. These fringes are paid directly into the trust funds on the member's behalf and are not deducted from the base hourly rate.
Yes, the local provides extensive training and certification in areas critical to the Wisconsin market, including UA weld certifications, medical gas installation, and backflow prevention. These certifications are essential for members working in the region's heavy industrial plants and healthcare facilities, ensuring they meet the stringent code requirements of the state of Wisconsin.
While specific company names are not listed here to maintain editorial neutrality, a full directory of signatory mechanical and plumbing contractors is available through the a mechanical contractor Association (MCA) of North Central Wisconsin or by contacting the UA Local 400 business office directly. These firms range from local family-owned shops to large multi-state mechanical primes.
Gulfstream Strategic Placements provides reference data for tradespeople and contractors to benchmark labor costs and understand regional jurisdictional boundaries. While we track the signatory landscape in Appleton and Green Bay, we recommend contacting the local's JATC for specific apprenticeship application windows or the business manager for the most current dispatch rules and project outlooks.
UA Local 400 is seated in Appleton, Wisconsin (WI). We hold published wage sheets for 16 locals across Wisconsin — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Appleton and the rest of Wisconsin, including contractors signatory to UA Local 400. 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 400 pay scale is $49.85 per hour for journeymen in Appleton, WI, or about $99,700 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $69.69 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 400 agreement make $49.85 an hour in base wages, or $69.69 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 12/15/23. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$49.85 per hour base wage and $69.69 per hour total package for a journeyman in Appleton, WI, effective 12/15/23. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $99,700 before overtime.
A Local 400 apprentice in Appleton, WI starts at roughly $22.43 an hour — about 45% of the $49.85 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $37.39 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 400 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $22.43 an hour, or roughly $44,865 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $49.85 journeyman rate effective 12/15/23. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $32.40 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $37.39 an hour in the fourth period and $49.85 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 400 training center.
The current UA Local 400 journeyman rate is $49.85/hour, with a total package of $69.69/hour including fringe benefits, effective 12/15/23. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $99,700 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 400 business office before relying on the figure.
The $49.85/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $69.69/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 400 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 $49.85/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $22.43–$24.93/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 400 is headquartered in Appleton, WI 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 400 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 400 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 400 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 400 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 12/15/23 schedule; check with the Local 400 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 400 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 400 hall is at Po Box 530 Kaukauna, WI 54130, serving Appleton, WI and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 920-462-0400.
UA Local 400 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 920-462-0400 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 400 can be reached at 920-462-0400. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.