Union HVAC technicians train through a registered five-year apprenticeship: about 8,000 to 10,000 paid on-the-job hours, roughly 216 or more classroom hours a year, no tuition debt, turning out as a journeyman plumber, pipefitter, welder or HVAC service technician. First-period pay runs $11.59/hr to $39.49/hr an hour (median $20.40/hr) across the 211 UA and SMART locals whose own journeyman wage sheet we hold, using the standard 45% first-period step. All 310 UA and SMART locals in our directory are listed; the 99 with no sheet on file show no figure, the hall's training committee has the numbers.
There is no single HVAC union. Service, refrigeration and mechanical piping apprentices indenture with a UA local; ductwork, air systems and testing-and-balancing apprentices indenture with a SMART local. Both are paid, registered apprenticeships run by the hall's own training committee. This page lists every UA and SMART hall, its apprentice start rate where the local publishes a wage sheet, and how to apply.
Once you turn out, published journeyman base scale across the 211 UA and SMART locals whose own wage sheet we hold runs $25.75/hr to $87.75/hr, with health, pension, annuity and training contributions paid on top. Apprentice pay is a percentage of local scale; the illustrative 45% first-period calculation here is $11.59/hr to $39.49/hr, not a verified local apprentice schedule. Confirm the classification, effective date and actual steps with the training committee.
Use the local list on this page: every UA and SMART local in our directory is shown with its hall city, and each hall with a published sheet shows its journeyman scale, first-period apprentice pay and effective date, linked to that local's own pay scale page. Use the city apprenticeship links for local training contacts, and open the HVAC technicians union wages page for wage tables and a downloadable file. Check each rate’s citation and effective date before relying on it, or sign up for rate-update emails. A blank means we have no citable sheet on file, call the hall for its current rate.
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First-period pay runs $11.59/hr to $39.49/hr an hour across the 211 locals with a published sheet, median $20.40/hr.
| Period | Share of journeyman scale |
|---|---|
| 1st period (year 1) | 45% of journeyman scale |
| 2nd period (year 2) | 55% of journeyman scale |
| 3rd period (year 3) | 65% of journeyman scale |
| 4th period (year 4) | 75% of journeyman scale |
| 5th period (year 5) | 85% of journeyman scale |
| Turned out, journeyman | 100% of journeyman scale |
These are the standard percentage steps of journeyman scale used across UA and SMART programs, not a schedule any one local has published. Open a local below for the dollar figures worked off that hall's own sheet, and confirm the exact steps with the local UA joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC). Union HVAC has two apprenticeship routes. The UA route trains service fitters and refrigeration mechanics through the local UA training committee; the SMART route trains sheet metal, ductwork and testing-and-balancing workers through the local SMART/SMACNA committee. The program shape described here is the UA route; SMART halls run their own schedule of the same length under the International Training Institute curriculum.
There is no national UA and SMART application deadline, and we do not publish one we cannot cite. Each hall's training committee opens its own application window, some once a year, some twice, some continuously while the list is short, and closes it when the list is full. The only reliable date is the one the hall gives you.
Start with a city, then open the local apprenticeship page for hall contacts, requirements, published wage steps and application guidance.
Download every listed local with its hall city, apprenticeship page, published first- and fourth-period pay, journeyman scale and effective date. Missing rates stay blank rather than estimated.
Apprentice pay is a percentage of the local's journeyman scale, and these halls publish no sheet we can cite, so no figure is shown. Their training pages carry the program shape, requirements and the hall's phone number.
There is no national apprentice rate, you are paid a percentage of your local's journeyman scale. Across the 211 UA and SMART locals with a published wage sheet, the standard 45% first period works out to $11.59/hr to $39.49/hr an hour, median $20.40/hr, rising each period to full scale on turning out. Health, pension and training contributions are paid on top, and classroom instruction is funded through the contract.
Typically a five-year registered apprenticeship, about 8,000 to 10,000 paid on-the-job hours plus roughly 216 or more classroom hours a year, run by the local UA joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC). You turn out as a journeyman plumber, pipefitter, welder or HVAC service technician with a nationally recognised credential.
18 years or older at the time of indenture; High school diploma or GED, with algebra normally required; Proof of legal authority to work in the United States; Valid driver's licence and reliable transportation to jobsites; Aptitude test and panel interview, then ranking on the apprentice list; Ability to pass a physical and a substance screen before dispatch. Individual committees can add requirements, so check the hall's own list before the window opens.
There is no national deadline and we do not publish one we cannot cite. Each hall's training committee opens and closes its own application window, some annually, some twice a year, some continuously while the list is short. Call the local you want to work out of and ask when its next window opens; every hall's page here carries that phone number.
99 of the 310 UA and SMART locals in our directory publish no journeyman wage sheet we can cite, and apprentice pay is a percentage of that scale. Rather than estimate a wage the local never printed, those halls are listed with their training page and no figure. Our sheet set was last cross-checked 2026-10-05.
No. Gulfstream is an independent recruiting firm and has no role in any union's apprenticeship selection, only the local training committee indentures apprentices. We recruit journeymen, foremen, superintendents and project managers for commercial mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and sheet metal contractors once you have turned out.
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