UnionBoilermakers Local 454 wages 2026 (Tennessee)
The hourly rates, overtime, shift, vacation and per diem rules of Boilermakers Local 454 in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, read from the two agreements built into the Boilermaker app. An independent guide: the agreement and your hall have the final word.
TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA)
TVA Project Maintenance and Modification Agreement and Construction Project Agreement (Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council), Exhibit A wage schedule 2026
$43.78an hour
Boilermaker, TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA)
From January 1, 2026. No later step published.
| Classification | From January 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Boilermaker (journeyman)base rate | $43.78 |
| Certified pressure welderJM + $2.75 | $46.53 |
| Welder, CW-FCAWJM + $1.50 | $45.28 |
| Foreman | $49.55 |
| Head foreman | $54.51 |
| Apprentice, 6th period95% | $41.59 |
| Apprentice, 5th period90% | $39.40 |
| Apprentice, 4th period85% | $37.21 |
| Apprentice, 3rd period80% | $35.02 |
| Apprentice, 2nd period75% | $32.84 |
| Apprentice, 1st period71% | $31.08 |
| Trainee II80% | $35.02 |
| Trainee I70% | $30.65 |
| Helper (hired after November 1 1997) | $15.00 |
- Overtime
- 4×10: 10 hours a day Monday to Thursday at straight time, hours past 10 at time and a half; Friday, the first day off, is time and a half and Saturday, the second day off, double time (the PMMA rule for outages, usually worked as 6×12 on a 4×10).
- Shift premium
- 7.5 hours worked on shift are paid as 8.
- Per diem and travel
- TVA's wage schedule has no per diem for plant work (only $112 a night on transmission work more than 55 miles from home).
Southeast Area field construction (probable rate)
Southeast Area Articles of Agreement 2025–2028 (Local 454); PROBABLE 2026 wage, check your rate
$40.21 an hour, journeyman (mechanic), from October 1, 2026.
| Classification | From October 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Journeyman (mechanic)base rate | $40.21 |
| Apprentice, 6th period (from 5,125 h)95% | $38.20 |
| Apprentice, 5th period (from 4,300 h)90% | $36.19 |
| Apprentice, 4th period (from 3,475 h)85% | $34.18 |
| Apprentice, 3rd period (from 2,650 h)80% | $32.17 |
| Apprentice, 2nd period (from 1,825 h)75% | $30.16 |
| Apprentice, 1st period (from 1,000 h)70% | $28.15 |
| Apprentice, probationary (first 1,000 h)65% | $26.14 |
- Overtime
- 4×10 (Art. 6.2): the contractor may set 10-hour days Monday to Thursday at straight time (half-hour unpaid lunch), hours past 10 at time and a half.
- Shift premium
- 7.5 hours worked on shift are paid as 8.
- Per diem and travel
- Over 60 miles, staying away from home: $75 per diem a day worked.
One 40-hour week, worked out
Week of October 25, 2026Boilermaker (journeyman), TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA)
Example| Day | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Earnings | |
| Regular40 h × 43.78 | 1,751.20 |
| Gross pay | 1,751.20 |
| Deductions | |
| Field dues6.25% of gross wages | −109.45 |
| Social Security6.2% | −108.57 |
| Medicare1.45% | −25.39 |
| Federal income taxestimate (W-4) | −215.46 |
What's missing
Where the app can't follow a rule to the letter yet, its notes say so, and say how to allow for it when you enter your hours. From this page's agreements:
- TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA). The app starts the 2026 rates on January 1 2026 (TVA starts them with the first pay period after it) and uses them for earlier weeks too; for a 2025 week use Enter my own rate (a journeyman had $40.74). TVA publishes the next schedule in late December.
- TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA). Under the CPA (construction) Saturday on a 4×10 is the 6th day, paid time and a half, so for construction work the app overpays a 4×10 Saturday by half the rate an hour; and under the PMMA a third day off in the week is time and a half, where the app pays a 4×10 Sunday at double time. Staggered weeks (days off other than the weekend) aren't built in.
- TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA). The agreements move only a Sunday holiday, so the app leaves a Saturday one on the Saturday (Independence Day 2026, Christmas 2027), worked at double time.
- TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA). The app treats every night as a 2nd shift, so a 3rd shift of 7 hours gets 7.47 hours' pay instead of 8; on a 4×10 (an evening shift works 9½ hours for 10, a night shift 9 for 10) and on a day off or holiday the app adds no paid-but-not-worked time.
- TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA). The app takes 6.25% of gross wages, the rate every other Southeast district lodge takes; type yours on the Settings tab if your stub shows another. Monthly dues ($35.95 to $62.60) are paid to the lodge yourself, so they aren't on the check.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). Every rule here is probable, not confirmed, and a rule changed since isn't in it. On a TVA plant, pick the TVA project agreements setup instead. Work under the National Maintenance Agreement or another national agreement isn't built in yet.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). The second step may have started before October 1 2026 (some time between October 2025 and September 10 2026); the app uses October 1. If your stub's rate differs, use Enter my own rate. The third step (probably $43.21 from October 1 2027) isn't entered.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). The agreement moves only a Sunday holiday, so the app leaves a Saturday one on the Saturday (Independence Day 2026, Christmas 2027), worked at double time; a local building trades holiday isn't marked: tick Holiday on the day.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). The app treats every night as a 2nd shift, so a 3rd shift of 7 hours gets 7.47 hours' pay instead of 8; on a 4×10 (the second shift works 9½ hours for 10) and on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday it adds no paid-but-not-worked time. The new agreement changed shift times, and how isn't published.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). Where the 60 miles are measured from isn't published, and the agreement doesn't say how it's taxed: the app treats it as a tax-free per diem when you stay away from home overnight and as taxable wages when you drive home each day. The meal after 3 hours of unscheduled overtime (up to $20) is furnished by the contractor, so it isn't on the check.
- Southeast Area field construction (probable rate). The app takes 6.25% of gross wages, the rate every other Southeast district lodge takes; type yours on the Settings tab if your stub shows another. Monthly dues ($35.95 to $62.60) are paid to the lodge yourself, so they aren't on the check. There's no vacation fund in this agreement; the credit union ($1.00 an hour) and the Campaign Assistance Fund ($0.05) are voluntary and not taken.
Enter your own hours in the Boilermaker app: it applies these rates, the overtime and holiday rules, dues and tax, and keeps a year of paychecks. Free for a month.
Your agreement isn't here, or a number is wrong? Send us your agreement from the app's Settings tab. If the app doesn't have it yet, you get a free year when it's added.
Questions
What does a Local 454 boilermaker (journeyman) make in 2026?
$43.78 an hour under the TVA Project Maintenance and Modification Agreement and Construction Project Agreement (Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council), Exhibit A wage schedule 2026, from January 1, 2026. The other agreements on this page: Southeast Area field construction (probable rate) $40.21.
When is the next Local 454 raise?
No later step is published in the data for the TVA project agreements (PMMA and CPA) agreement. Rates usually change once a year; check the schedule before you count on a raise.
What do Local 454 apprentices make?
Apprentice, 6th period $41.59 (95%), Apprentice, 5th period $39.40 (90%), Apprentice, 4th period $37.21 (85%), Apprentice, 3rd period $35.02 (80%), Apprentice, 2nd period $32.84 (75%), Apprentice, 1st period $31.08 (71%), Trainee II $35.02 (80%) and Trainee I $30.65 (70%) an hour from January 1, 2026.
Does Local 454 pay a per diem?
TVA's wage schedule has no per diem for plant work (only $112 a night on transmission work more than 55 miles from home).
How is Local 454 overtime paid?
4×10: 10 hours a day Monday to Thursday at straight time, hours past 10 at time and a half; Friday, the first day off, is time and a half and Saturday, the second day off, double time (the PMMA rule for outages, usually worked as 6×12 on a 4×10).
Sources
The agreements and schedules these numbers were read from. Built October 15, 2026 from the Boilermaker app, version 0.2.0.
- TVA Construction Project Agreement package 2026 (Exhibit A)
- TVA PMMA package 2026
- District Lodge 57 LM-2 2026
- Local 454 LM-2 2026
- IBB news: Southeast Area agreement 2025–2028 (Boilermaker Reporter, Winter 2025)
- Savannah River Site wage determination, September 10 2026
- Southeastern apprenticeship committee, Schedule A
Independent. Not affiliated with any union. Check your agreement.