UnionCrane Operators Local 3 wages 2026 (California)
The hourly rates, overtime, shift, vacation and per diem rules of IUOE Local 3 in California, read from the one agreement built into the Crane Operator app. An independent guide: the agreement and your hall have the final word.
Northern California heavy & highway (type your deductions)
California DIR prevailing wage determination NC-23-63-1-2026-2, Operating Engineer (Heavy and Highway Work), Local 3's 46 Northern California counties, effective June 29 2026 (the 2026–2029 OE3 Master Agreement); deductions not published
$72.00an hour
Crane Group 1: cranes, derricks and self-propelled boom lifting devices over 250 t, Northern California heavy & highway (type your deductions)
From June 29, 2026. No later step published.
| Classification | From June 29, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Crane Group 1: cranes, derricks and self-propelled boom lifting devices over 250 tbase rate | $72.00 |
| Crane Group 1-A: cranes over 100 t; tower cranes; draglines over 7 cu yd | $71.25 |
| Crane Group 2-A: cranes over 45 to 100 t; derrick barges to 100 t; self-erecting tower cranes over 3 stories | $69.49 |
| Crane Group 3-A: cranes 45 t and under; self-erecting tower cranes 3 stories and under | $67.75 |
| Crane Group 3-A, hydraulic | $63.39 |
| Crane Group 4-A: boom trucks (non-rotating over 15 t; rotating telescopic) | $64.71 |
| Truck crane assistant to engineer, with a Crane Group 1 crane | $65.03 |
| Truck crane assistant to engineer, with a Crane Group 1-A crane | $64.28 |
| Truck crane assistant to engineer, with a Crane Group 2-A crane | $64.02 |
| Truck crane assistant to engineer, with a Crane Group 3-A crane | $63.78 |
| Assistant to engineer (oiler), with a Crane Group 1 crane | $62.74 |
| Assistant to engineer (oiler), with a Crane Group 1-A crane | $61.99 |
| Assistant to engineer (oiler), with a Crane Group 2-A crane | $61.78 |
| Assistant to engineer (oiler), with a Crane Group 3-A crane | $61.50 |
| Apprentice, period 155% of Group 4 | $36.29 |
| Apprentice, period 260% | $39.59 |
| Apprentice, period 365% | $42.89 |
| Apprentice, period 470% | $46.19 |
| Apprentice, period 585% | $56.08 |
Rates differ by site; this table shows Area 1 (the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Central Valley counties). The app has the others.
- Overtime
- Daily overtime and Saturdays are time and a half; Sundays and holidays are double time.
- Shift premium
- $7.00 an hour on every hour worked on shift.
- Vacation and holiday pay
- Double time when worked; not paid when you don't work them (the holiday money is the employer's vacation and holiday contribution).
- Per diem and travel
- The published travel provisions have no general subsistence for crane operators ($20.00 a day applies to steel fabricating and erecting, and to rented hoisting equipment other than cranes, more than 35 road miles away; travel expense when due is $0.25 a mile plus tolls).
One 40-hour week, worked out
Week of November 8, 2026Crane Group 1: cranes, derricks and self-propelled boom lifting devices over 250 t, Northern California heavy & highway (type your deductions)
Example| Day | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Earnings | |
|---|---|
| Regular40 h × 72.00 | 2,880.00 |
| Gross pay | 2,880.00 |
| Deductions | |
| Social Security6.2% | −178.56 |
| Medicare1.45% | −41.76 |
| CA SDI | −37.44 |
| Federal income taxestimate (W-4) | −474.55 |
| California income taxestimate | −208.02 |
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:
- In Area 2 the app adds $2.00 to every class, apprentices included (DIR prints the Area 2 journeyman rates only).
- The app adds $7.00 for every hour worked that day and uses $7.00 for weeks before June 29 2026 too (the earlier amount isn't in our sources); for a three-shift week enter the 8 hours you're paid.
- With nothing typed, take-home here is higher than your stub until you do.
Enter your own hours in the Crane Operator app: it applies these rates, the overtime and holiday rules, dues and tax, and keeps a year of paychecks. Free for a month.
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Questions
What does a Local 3 journeyman make in 2026?
$72.00 an hour under the California DIR prevailing wage determination NC-23-63-1-2026-2, Operating Engineer (Heavy and Highway Work), Local 3's 46 Northern California counties, effective June 29 2026 (the 2026–2029 OE3 Master Agreement); deductions not published, from June 29, 2026.
When is the next Local 3 raise?
No later step is published in the data for the Northern California heavy & highway (type your deductions) agreement. Rates usually change once a year; check the schedule before you count on a raise.
What do Local 3 apprentices make?
Apprentice, period 1 $36.29 (55% of Group 4), Apprentice, period 2 $39.59 (60%), Apprentice, period 3 $42.89 (65%), Apprentice, period 4 $46.19 (70%) and Apprentice, period 5 $56.08 (85%) an hour from June 29, 2026.
Does Local 3 pay a per diem?
The published travel provisions have no general subsistence for crane operators ($20.00 a day applies to steel fabricating and erecting, and to rented hoisting equipment other than cranes, more than 35 road miles away; travel expense when due is $0.25 a mile plus tolls).
How is Local 3 overtime paid?
Daily overtime and Saturdays are time and a half; Sundays and holidays are double time.
Sources
The agreements and schedules these numbers were read from. Built October 25, 2026 from the Crane Operator app, version 0.1.0.
Independent. Not affiliated with any union. Check your agreement.