{
  "title": "Union scale vs the prevailing wage (electricians + plumbers)",
  "generated": "2026-06-01",
  "dataSource": "BLS OEWS May 2025 + IBEW/UA 2024 CBA union scales",
  "notes": [
    "Union figures are 2024 IBEW/UA CBA approximations (negotiated base journeyman scale only; verify against the current agreement).",
    "BLS figures are OEWS May 2025 all-worker medians. BLS does not split union from non-union, so the median is a blended prevailing-wage reference, not a pure non-union number.",
    "Coverage is 10 trade-and-state pairs across 2 of 30 trades. Nothing is imputed; trades and pairs without a union scale are excluded, not estimated."
  ],
  "summary": {
    "pairCount": 10,
    "tradeCount": 2,
    "stateCount": 7,
    "excludedTradeCount": 28,
    "tradesCovered": [
      "Electrician",
      "Plumber"
    ],
    "meanDollars": 29406,
    "meanPct": 39.3,
    "medianDollars": 27795,
    "medianPct": 41.4,
    "smallest": {
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateName": "Illinois",
      "premiumDollars": 8210,
      "premiumPct": 8.2
    },
    "largest": {
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateName": "California",
      "premiumDollars": 58210,
      "premiumPct": 79.9
    }
  },
  "rows": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "tradeSlug": "plumber",
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateSlug": "california",
      "stateName": "California",
      "local": "UA Local 38 (San Francisco) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 131040,
      "blsMedian": 72830,
      "premiumDollars": 58210,
      "premiumPct": 79.9,
      "sampleSize": 47660
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "pennsylvania",
      "stateName": "Pennsylvania",
      "local": "IBEW Local 98 (Philadelphia) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 108160,
      "blsMedian": 67600,
      "premiumDollars": 40560,
      "premiumPct": 60,
      "sampleSize": 22730
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "new-york",
      "stateName": "New York",
      "local": "IBEW Local 3 (New York) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 122720,
      "blsMedian": 78750,
      "premiumDollars": 43970,
      "premiumPct": 55.8,
      "sampleSize": 40130
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "tradeSlug": "plumber",
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateSlug": "new-york",
      "stateName": "New York",
      "local": "UA Local 1 (New York) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 120640,
      "blsMedian": 77490,
      "premiumDollars": 43150,
      "premiumPct": 55.7,
      "sampleSize": 23210
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "texas",
      "stateName": "Texas",
      "local": "IBEW Local 716 (Houston) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 83200,
      "blsMedian": 58570,
      "premiumDollars": 24630,
      "premiumPct": 42.1,
      "sampleSize": 76770
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "california",
      "stateName": "California",
      "local": "IBEW Local 11 (Los Angeles) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 107120,
      "blsMedian": 76160,
      "premiumDollars": 30960,
      "premiumPct": 40.7,
      "sampleSize": 73310
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "michigan",
      "stateName": "Michigan",
      "local": "IBEW Local 58 (Detroit) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 91520,
      "blsMedian": 76270,
      "premiumDollars": 15250,
      "premiumPct": 20,
      "sampleSize": 23530
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "tradeSlug": "plumber",
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateSlug": "massachusetts",
      "stateName": "Massachusetts",
      "local": "UA Local 12 (Boston) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 112320,
      "blsMedian": 93880,
      "premiumDollars": 18440,
      "premiumPct": 19.6,
      "sampleSize": 13460
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "tradeSlug": "electrician",
      "tradeName": "Electrician",
      "stateSlug": "illinois",
      "stateName": "Illinois",
      "local": "IBEW Local 134 (Chicago) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 110240,
      "blsMedian": 99560,
      "premiumDollars": 10680,
      "premiumPct": 10.7,
      "sampleSize": 23120
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "tradeSlug": "plumber",
      "tradeName": "Plumber",
      "stateSlug": "illinois",
      "stateName": "Illinois",
      "local": "UA Local 130 (Chicago) journeyman scale",
      "unionAnnual": 108160,
      "blsMedian": 99950,
      "premiumDollars": 8210,
      "premiumPct": 8.2,
      "sampleSize": 16750
    }
  ]
}