Journeyman plumbers under UA Local 502 in Louisville, KY earn $40.22/hr in base wages, or $61.01/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Jan 2024.
UA Local 502 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 502 pay scale is $40.22 per hour for journeymen in Louisville, KY, or about $80,440 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $61.01 per hour. That is the rate in force, effective 1/5/24.
| Local 502 journeyman hourly wage | $40.22 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $61.01 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $80,440 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $18.10–$20.11 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 1/5/24 |
| Classification | Combo |
A Local 502 apprentice in Louisville, KY starts at roughly $18.10 an hour — about 45% of the $40.22 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $30.17 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 502 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $18.10 / hour | $36,198 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $22.12 / hour | $44,242 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $26.14 / hour | $52,286 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $30.17 / hour | $60,330 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $34.19 / hour | $68,374 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $40.22 / hour | $80,440 |
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Local 502 wages: $40.22 an hour on the journeyman scale, $61.01 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 1/5/24. That is the most recent Louisville, KY sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Roughly 34% of the UA Local 502 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.
Download the UA Local 502 pay scale (PDF) — one-page printable rate sheet, effective January 5, 2024.
| Benefit & fringe contributions | $20.79/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 502 scale used across the Louisville, KY 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 Louisville metro, so a plumbers wage quoted locally is normally this scale plus the fringe package shown in the table.
Gulfstream recruits plumbers talent for commercial mechanical, plumbing, piping, sheet metal and building automation contractors in and around Louisville. We are a private recruiting firm — we do not dispatch, set, or negotiate Local 502 rates. For current Louisville scale, dispatch standing, or apprenticeship intake, contact the hall directly.
UA Local 502 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 502-361-8492 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 502 represents the skilled plumbing and pipefitting workforce throughout the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area and surrounding regions. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored this labor market, which serves as a critical hub for industrial manufacturing, bourbon production, and healthcare infrastructure. The local provides the specialized manpower required for high-purity piping, complex HVAC systems, and commercial plumbing installations that sustain the regional economy. Members are trained to meet rigorous industry standards, ensuring that large-scale capital projects across Kentucky and Southern Indiana are completed with technical precision and safety compliance.
The strength of Local 502 lies in its collaborative relationship with mechanical contractors who rely on a steady pipeline of certified tradespeople. As the Louisville market continues to expand with battery manufacturing plants and logistical upgrades, the demand for UA-certified pipefitters and plumbers remains consistent. This local manages both the technical training for new apprentices and the continuing education for journeymen, covering specialized certifications such as orbital welding and medical gas installation. For contractors, the local offers a predictable labor cost structure and a mobile workforce capable of scaling for major industrial shutdowns or new commercial construction developments.
As of January 5, 2024, the journeyman scale for UA Local 502 is set at $40.22 per hour, contributing to a comprehensive total package of $61.01 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 before passing their licensing exams. This structured progression ensures that labor costs scale relative to the skill level provided. It is important to note that these figures represent the base building trades agreement; specialized service or residential rates may differ and should be verified directly with the business office.
UA Local 502 maintains a significant geographic footprint covering several counties across North-Central Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The jurisdiction includes the entirety of the Louisville metro area and extends into rural districts where industrial processing and utility work are common. The charter governs all aspects of the piping trades, including hydronic heating and cooling, process piping for distilleries, healthcare sanitation systems, and industrial refrigeration. Members dispatched through the hall are subject to the travel rules outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which defines reporting zones and subsistence pay for projects located outside the immediate Louisville vicinity. This broad reach allows signatory contractors to maintain consistent labor standards across diverse job sites in the Ohio River Valley.
The contractor landscape for Local 502 is characterized by a mix of large-scale mechanical primes and specialized service firms. Currently, there are 42 signatory contractors tracked on this page, ranging from national mechanical construction companies to regional plumbing shops. These firms handle diverse portfolios, including work at major automotive assembly plants, large-scale bourbon distilleries, and university medical centers. The presence of these contractors ensures a steady flow of man-hours across the building trades, industrial maintenance, and commercial service sectors. Hiring typically follows the fluctuations of regional capital spending, with peak demand occurring during summer school breaks and industrial turnaround seasons when mechanical systems require intensive upgrades.
As of the most recent update on January 5, 2024, the journeyman taxable wage is $40.22 per hour. When fringe benefits including health insurance and pension contributions are added, the total compensation package reaches $61.01 per hour. These rates are subject to annual adjustments defined in the collective bargaining agreement.
Yes, Local 502 has a multi-state jurisdiction that includes several counties in Southern Indiana, such as Clark, Floyd, and Harrison. This allows members living in Indiana to work under the same contract protections and provides contractors with a unified labor force for projects spanning the Ohio River.
The apprenticeship program typically lasts five years. It combines 8,000 to 10,000 hours of on-the-job training with classroom instruction at the JATC. Apprentices earn a progressive wage that increases as they advance through the five levels of the program, eventually reaching full journeyman status upon graduation.
The Louisville market is heavily influenced by the spirits industry, specifically bourbon distilleries which require complex process piping. Additionally, the region's strong presence in automotive manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics centers provides a steady demand for HVAC, fire protection, and industrial piping installations.
UA Local 502 is seated in Louisville, Kentucky (KY). We hold published wage sheets for 6 locals across Kentucky — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
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We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Louisville and the rest of Kentucky, including contractors signatory to UA Local 502. 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 502 pay scale is $40.22 per hour for journeymen in Louisville, KY, or about $80,440 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $61.01 per hour. That is the rate in force, effective 1/5/24.
Journeyman plumbers under the UA Local 502 agreement make $40.22 an hour in base wages, or $61.01 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 1/5/24. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$40.22 per hour base wage and $61.01 per hour total package for a journeyman in Louisville, KY, effective 1/5/24. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $80,440 before overtime.
A Local 502 apprentice in Louisville, KY starts at roughly $18.10 an hour — about 45% of the $40.22 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $30.17 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 502 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $18.10 an hour, or roughly $36,198 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $40.22 journeyman rate effective 1/5/24. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $26.14 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $30.17 an hour in the fourth period and $40.22 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 502 training center.
Local 502 wages: $40.22 an hour on the journeyman scale, $61.01 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 1/5/24. That is the most recent Louisville, KY sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Yes — a one-page printable UA Local 502 rate sheet is available at /rate-sheets/ua-local-502-pay-scale.pdf, showing the $40.22 hourly scale, the $61.01 total package and the 1/5/24 effective date, with the source it was read from. It is a free download — no sign-up needed.
The current UA Local 502 journeyman rate is $40.22/hour, with a total package of $61.01/hour including fringe benefits, effective 1/5/24. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $80,440 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 502 business office before relying on the figure.
The $40.22/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $61.01/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 & steamfitters labor costs across locals.
Apprentices under the UA Local 502 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 $40.22/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $18.10–$20.11/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 502 is headquartered in Louisville, KY and dispatches plumbers & steamfitters 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 & steamfitters work. Some Local 502 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 502 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 502 training center directly.
Plumbers & Steamfitters 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 502 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 & steamfitters 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 1/5/24 schedule; check with the Local 502 business office for any increase that has taken effect since.
We track 42 signatory contractors working under the UA Local 502 agreement, listed on this page with their websites and LinkedIn pages. Signatory shops are the employers legally able to hire Local 502 members and pay the negotiated scale.
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 502 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & steamfitters markets.
The UA Local 502 hall is at 4330 Crittenden Dr Ste A Louisville, KY 40209, serving Louisville, KY and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 502-361-8492.
UA Local 502 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 502-361-8492 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 502 can be reached at 502-361-8492. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.
$40.22/hr in base wages for combo, or $61.01/hr counting employer-paid benefits and fringes, effective January 5, 2024 per the unionpayscales.com wage sheet.
January 5, 2024. The source wage sheet is more than 18 months old, so a mid-term raise may already be in effect. Confirm the current step with the local's business office before extending an offer.
No — the $40.22/hr base is wages only. Employers contribute roughly $20.79/hr more per hour worked to health and welfare, pension, annuity and training funds, which is the difference between the base and the $61.01/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.
Moderate confidence — last cross-checked against the source on Sep 1, 2026 (13 days ago). Always confirm the current step with the hall before relying on it for an offer.