Plumbers union apprenticeship and training programs by local
Union plumbers 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 $13.28/hr to $40.95/hr an hour (median $21.49/hr) across the 185 UA locals whose own journeyman wage sheet we hold, using the standard 45% first-period step. All 239 UA locals in our directory are listed; the 54 with no sheet on file show no figure — the hall's training committee has the numbers.
Every UA plumbing apprenticeship is run by a local joint apprenticeship and training committee, so the hall you apply to sets the intake window and the step schedule. This page lists those halls, what the first period pays where the local publishes its own wage sheet, and how to apply.
Quick answers: plumbers pay and local rates
What do union plumbers get paid?
Once you turn out, published journeyman base scale across the 185 UA locals whose own wage sheet we hold runs $29.50/hr to $91.00/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 $13.28/hr to $40.95/hr, not a verified local apprentice schedule. Confirm the classification, effective date and actual steps with the training committee.
How do I find local plumber union rates?
Use the local list on this page: every UA 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 plumbers 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.
Program length: Typically a five-year registered apprenticeship
Paid on-the-job hours: about 8,000 to 10,000 hours across the program
Classroom instruction: roughly 216 or more hours a year, related instruction
Run by: The local UA joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC)
Turns out as: Journeyman plumber, pipefitter, welder or HVAC service technician
Cost: No tuition debt — training is funded through the contract; books, tools and small fees may still be yours
Plumbers apprentice pay, period by period
First-period pay runs $13.28/hr to $40.95/hr an hour across the 185 locals with a published sheet, median $21.49/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 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).
The training pathway, step by step
Pre-apprentice / helper — Not required, but many people arrive through a pre-apprenticeship, a Helmets to Hardhats referral or time already worked in the trade. Verifiable hours can shorten the program — raise them with the hall before you apply.
Indentured apprentice — Once you are indentured you work for signatory contractors at the first-period rate and attend related classroom instruction. Pay steps up each period as a set percentage of journeyman scale; each local's page shows that local's own published rate.
Turn out as a journeyman plumber, pipefitter, welder or HVAC service technician — Completing the on-the-job hours and the classroom program earns a nationally recognised registered-apprenticeship credential and full journeyman scale.
Journeyman upgrade and certification — Training does not stop at turn-out. UA training centres run upgrade courses — welding certifications, service and controls, code updates, medical gas, foreman and supervisory training — that take members into service work, detailing and field leadership.
Foreman, general foreman, superintendent — Field leadership is where journeyman hours turn into a career step. Gulfstream recruits foremen, superintendents, project managers and service leaders for mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, sheet metal and electrical contractors — the openings on this page are that route.
Entry requirements
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
Deadlines — how intake windows work
There is no national UA 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.
Windows are short. Many locals accept applications for a matter of weeks, so the practical step is to call the hall now and ask when the next window opens rather than wait for an announcement.
Applications are usually taken in person at the training centre, with documents in hand — a window you find out about late is often one you cannot meet.
After the window closes there is an aptitude test and a panel interview, then a ranked list. Indenture happens off that list as contractors call for apprentices, which can be months after you apply.
The list can reopen early when work picks up. Ask the hall to tell you what triggers a reopening in their jurisdiction.
How to apply
Find the hall whose jurisdiction covers you — Apprenticeships are dispatched locally. Open the UA local nearest the work you want and use its page for the hall address, dispatch line and website.
Call the training committee for the current window — Ask the local UA joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC) when applications open, where they are taken and what they want you to bring. This single call is what most applicants miss.
Get your documents together first — Birth certificate or passport, high school transcript or GED, an algebra credit, driver's licence, and a DD-214 if you served. Gather them before the window opens, not during it.
Sit the aptitude test and panel interview — Expect a math and reading aptitude test and an interview. Scores set your position on the ranked apprentice list.
Stay reachable while you wait — Indenture comes off the list as contractors call for help. Keep your number current with the hall and take the first dispatch you are offered.
plumbers apprenticeship programs by city
Start with a city, then open the local apprenticeship page for hall contacts, requirements, published wage steps and application guidance.
54 UA locals with no published scale to work the steps from
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.
UA apprenticeship — The United Association's own apprenticeship page: the trades it trains, what the registered program covers and how the earn-while-you-learn model works.
Find a UA local union — The International's hall finder — the local's training committee is the only body that can tell you when its application window opens.
Apprenticeship.gov job finder — The U.S. Department of Labor's finder for registered apprenticeships, including open programs with current application windows.
Plumbers apprenticeship questions
How much do plumbers apprentices make?
There is no national apprentice rate — you are paid a percentage of your local's journeyman scale. Across the 185 UA locals with a published wage sheet, the standard 45% first period works out to $13.28/hr to $40.95/hr an hour, median $21.49/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.
How long is a UA plumber apprenticeship?
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.
What do you need to get into a UA apprenticeship?
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.
When is the UA plumber apprenticeship deadline?
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.
Why do some UA locals show no apprentice rate?
54 of the 239 UA 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 2026-09-23.
Can Gulfstream get me into an apprenticeship?
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 mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, sheet metal and electrical contractors once you have turned out.