Journeyman pipefitters under UA Local 551 in Herrin, IL earn $45.75/hr in base wages, or $74.20/hr as a total package with fringe benefits, effective Sep 2025.
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UA Local 551 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 551 pay scale for 2026 is $45.75 per hour for journeymen in Herrin, IL, or about $91,500 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $74.20 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 9/15/25.
| Local 551 journeyman hourly wage | $45.75 / hour |
|---|---|
| Total package (wage + fringe benefits) | $74.20 / hour |
| Annualized at 2,080 hours (base wage) | $91,500 / year |
| First-period apprentice (≈45–50% of scale) | $20.59–$22.88 / hour |
| Wage sheet effective | 9/15/25 |
| Classification | Plumber, building — Franklin County determination |
A Local 551 apprentice in Herrin, IL starts at roughly $20.59 an hour — about 45% of the $45.75 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $34.31 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 551 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of scale | $20.59 / hour | $41,175 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of scale | $25.16 / hour | $50,325 |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of scale | $29.74 / hour | $59,475 |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of scale | $34.31 / hour | $68,625 |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of scale | $38.89 / hour | $77,775 |
| Journeyman (turned out) | 100% of scale | $45.75 / hour | $91,500 |
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Local 551 wages: $45.75 an hour on the journeyman scale, $74.20 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 9/15/25. That is the most recent Herrin, IL sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
Roughly 38% of the UA Local 551 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: Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage rates, Franklin County
Download the UA Local 551 pay scale (PDF) — one-page printable rate sheet, effective September 15, 2025.
| Benefit & fringe contributions | $28.45/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 551 scale used across the Herrin, IL 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 Herrin 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 Herrin. We are a private recruiting firm — we do not dispatch, set, or negotiate Local 551 rates. For current Herrin scale, dispatch standing, or apprenticeship intake, contact the hall directly.
UA Local 551 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall — call 618-937-1363 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.
UA Local 551 represents the highly skilled plumbers and pipefitters across the southern tip of Illinois, operating out of their headquarters in Herrin. As a charter of the United Association, this local provides the specialized labor force necessary for the region's industrial, commercial, and residential infrastructure. The membership is composed of journeymen and apprentices trained in sophisticated piping systems, high-pressure welding, and medical gas installations. By maintaining a centralized pool of certified labor, Local 551 ensures that signatory contractors in the Herrin and Marion corridors have immediate access to workers who meet rigorous national safety and quality standards.
The market served by Local 551 is unique due to its mix of heavy industrial presence, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions. Because the southern Illinois economy relies on consistent utility performance and regulatory compliance, the local union focuses heavily on continuous training and recertification. This dedication to craft excellence allows members to command competitive wages and comprehensive benefits while providing contractors with a predictable cost of labor. For tradespeople, Local 551 offers a structured career path through a registered apprenticeship program that combines paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction, ensuring the long-term viability of the piping trades in the region.
Because specific wage figures for UA Local 551 are not publicly broadcast, interested parties must contact the business office in Herrin to obtain the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) schedule. Typically, the total package for a journeyman plumber or pipefitter includes a base hourly rate plus employer-contributed fringes such as health insurance and pension credits. Apprentices start at a percentage of the journeyman rate, usually beginning around 40-50% and increasing annually or semi-annually as they complete required work hours and schooling modules. These step-increases are guaranteed by the CBA, providing a transparent financial roadmap for those entering the trade. Contractors utilize these set rates to ensure accurate bidding and labor cost forecasting for projects throughout southern Illinois.
The jurisdiction of UA Local 551 covers a significant portion of Southern Illinois, reaching from the Herrin and Marion metropolitan areas down to the borders of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The charter includes the installation, maintenance, and repair of all piping systems, including HVAC refrigeration, process piping for industrial plants, and sanitary plumbing for commercial builds. Members dispatched from the Herrin hall may work on diverse sites ranging from correctional facilities and hospitals to power generation plants. The local manages a territorial agreement that ensures labor stability across several rural and municipal counties, preventing jurisdictional disputes and maintaining a unified standard for mechanical work in the region.
The signatory contractor landscape for UA Local 551 is a blend of local mechanical firms and larger regional primes that operate across the Illinois and Missouri borders. These contractors range from specialized plumbing service providers to large-scale mechanical contractors capable of managing multi-million dollar a mechanical contractor projects. Since 2014, Gulfstream Strategic Placements has monitored the movement of talent within these organizations, noting that signatory status allows these firms to scale their workforce rapidly by utilizing the local's hall. This relationship provides contractors with a flexible, high-skill workforce while ensuring members have access to a variety of project types, from small-scale renovations to major capital improvements at regional institutions.
UA Local 551 represents Plumbers, Pipefitters, and HVAC Technicians. Their members are skilled in the installation and service of commercial plumbing systems, a mechanical contractor, and complex climate control systems. This multi-craft representation allows the local to provide comprehensive mechanical solutions for contractors and facility owners throughout the Southern Illinois region.
Local 551 operates a traditional hiring hall dispatch system. When signatory contractors require additional labor, they contact the hall with specific manning requirements. Members are typically dispatched based on their position on the out-of-work list, their specific certifications (such as specialized welding or med-gas), and the requirements of the project, ensuring a fair and efficient allocation of work.
Yes, the Local 551 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) provides ongoing education for journeymen to stay current with evolving technology and codes. This includes specialized certifications in areas like backflow prevention, orbital welding, and advanced HVAC controls. These programs ensure that the local workforce remains the most competitive and technically proficient option for regional developers.
Transferring into UA Local 551 is governed by the United Association's constitution regarding travel cards and permanent transfers. Typically, a member must be in good standing with their home local and secure work within Local 551's jurisdiction. The process often involves a period of working as a traveler before a formal transfer of membership can be requested through the business manager.
UA Local 551 is seated in Herrin, Illinois (IL). We hold published wage sheets for 32 locals across Illinois — compare nearby scales before you take a call.
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We are a mechanical, plumbing and electrical construction recruiting firm serving Herrin and the rest of Illinois, including contractors signatory to UA Local 551. 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 551 pay scale for 2026 is $45.75 per hour for journeymen in Herrin, IL, or about $91,500 a year at 2,080 hours. The total package, including employer-paid fringe benefits, is $74.20 per hour. That is the rate in force for 2026, effective 9/15/25.
Journeyman pipefitters under the UA Local 551 agreement make $45.75 an hour in base wages, or $74.20 an hour counting the fringe package, per the wage sheet effective 9/15/25. Overtime, shift premiums, and travel or subsistence pay are added on top under the local's CBA.
$45.75 per hour base wage and $74.20 per hour total package for a journeyman in Herrin, IL, effective 9/15/25. Annualized at 2,080 hours that is roughly $91,500 before overtime.
A Local 551 apprentice in Herrin, IL starts at roughly $20.59 an hour — about 45% of the $45.75 journeyman scale — and steps up each period, reaching around $34.31 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 551 has published; confirm the exact schedule with the JATC.
About $20.59 an hour, or roughly $41,175 a year at 2,080 hours, based on the standard 45% first-period step of the $45.75 journeyman rate effective 9/15/25. Apprentices also earn benefit contributions and paid classroom progression; the JATC sets the exact percentage.
Around $29.74 an hour at the standard 65% third-period step, moving to about $34.31 an hour in the fourth period and $45.75 an hour at full journeyman scale. Confirm the published step schedule with the Local 551 training center.
Local 551 wages: $45.75 an hour on the journeyman scale, $74.20 an hour with fringe benefits added, effective 9/15/25. That is the most recent Herrin, IL sheet we can source; rates move with each contract cycle, so confirm with the hall before quoting.
The current published UA Local 551 journeyman rate is $45.75 an hour ($74.20 total package), effective 9/15/25 — roughly $91,500 a year at 2,080 hours before overtime. Confirm the effective agreement with the local.
Yes — a one-page printable UA Local 551 rate sheet is available at /rate-sheets/ua-local-551-pay-scale.pdf, showing the $45.75 hourly scale, the $74.20 total package and the 9/15/25 effective date, with the source it was read from. It is a free download — no sign-up needed.
The current UA Local 551 journeyman rate is $45.75/hour, with a total package of $74.20/hour including fringe benefits, effective 9/15/25. At 2,080 hours that works out to roughly $91,500 per year in base wages before overtime. Rates change with each CBA cycle — confirm with the Local 551 business office before relying on the figure.
The $45.75/hour figure is the base journeyman wage that lands on the paycheck. The $74.20/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 551 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 $45.75/hour journeyman rate, a first-period apprentice would be in the $20.59–$22.88/hour range. The exact percentage schedule is set by the local's JATC.
UA Local 551 is headquartered in Herrin, IL 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 551 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 551 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 551 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 551 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 9/15/25 schedule; check with the Local 551 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 551 against neighboring jurisdictions and other plumbers & pipefitters markets.
The UA Local 551 hall is at 10967 Dean Browning Dr, West Frankfort, IL 62896, serving Herrin, IL and the surrounding jurisdiction. Hall phone: 618-937-1363.
UA Local 551 runs its own referral procedure and books are signed at the hall. Call the hall at 618-937-1363 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 551 can be reached at 618-937-1363. Contact details are imported from the union's public directory listing — confirm hours with the hall.
$45.75/hr in base wages for plumber, building — franklin county determination, or $74.20/hr counting employer-paid benefits and fringes, effective September 15, 2025 per the Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage rates, Franklin County wage determination.
September 15, 2025. Read directly from the primary source (Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage rates, Franklin County) and cross-checked at build time. Highest confidence for offer benchmarking.
No — the $45.75/hr base is wages only. Employers contribute roughly $28.45/hr more per hour worked to health and welfare, pension, annuity and training funds, which is the difference between the base and the $74.20/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 17, 2026 (13 days ago). Always confirm the current step with the hall before relying on it for an offer.