UnionInsulators Local 4 wages 2026 (New York)
The hourly rates, overtime, shift, vacation and per diem rules of Insulators Local 4 in New York, read from the one agreement built into the Insulator app. An independent guide: the agreement and your hall have the final word.
Mechanical insulation
Heat and Frost Insulators Local 4 (Buffalo and western New York), New York State 2026–27 prevailing wage
$40.65an hour
Mechanic, Mechanical insulation
From May 1, 2026. No later step published.
| Classification | From May 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Mechanic (journeyperson)base rate | $40.65 |
| 4th-year apprentice80% | $32.52 |
| 3rd-year apprentice75% | $30.49 |
| 2nd-year apprentice70% | $28.46 |
| 1st-year apprentice60% | $24.39 |
- Overtime
- Overtime (New York's schedule, codes B, E, Q): every hour past 8 on a weekday is time and a half, with no step to double time; Saturday is time and a half for the first 10 hours, then double; Sundays and holidays are double time; Labor Day is triple time.
- Shift premium
- No shift premium is published for this agreement, so the app adds none for night work.
- Per diem and travel
- Local 4's published rules have no per diem.
One 40-hour week, worked out
Week of October 25, 2026Mechanic (journeyperson), Mechanical insulation
Example| Day | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Earnings | |
| Regular40 h × 40.65 | 1,626.00 |
| Gross pay | 1,626.00 |
| Deductions | |
| Field dues8% of gross wages | −130.08 |
| Social Security6.2% | −100.81 |
| Medicare1.45% | −23.58 |
| NY disability (DBL) | −0.60 |
| NY paid family leave | −7.02 |
| Federal income taxestimate (W-4) | −187.91 |
| New York income taxestimate | −76.95 |
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:
- New York prints only the percentages, so the app works out the apprentice dollars (and the 2025 ones from $37.65), rounded to the cent. The package goes up $4.25 in 2027, $4.50 in 2028 and $5.15 in 2029, to be allocated: the app keeps the 2026 rates until your new rate is out.
- The app has no triple-time rate, so Labor Day hours show at double time, a third short of what's owed.
- The schedule doesn't say whether a weekend holiday moves, so the app keeps each on its date.
- Local 4's dues and other deductions aren't published. The app takes 8% of gross wages as dues, the highest working-dues rate any insulators' local publishes (Local 40's work assessment), so the take-home shown is on the low side: type your local's % on the Settings tab. No vacation fund is taken.
Enter your own hours in the Insulator 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 4 mechanic (journeyperson) make in 2026?
$40.65 an hour under the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 4 (Buffalo and western New York), New York State 2026–27 prevailing wage, from May 1, 2026.
When is the next Local 4 raise?
No later step is published in the data for the Mechanical insulation agreement. Rates usually change once a year; check the schedule before you count on a raise.
What do Local 4 apprentices make?
4th-year apprentice $32.52 (80%), 3rd-year apprentice $30.49 (75%), 2nd-year apprentice $28.46 (70%) and 1st-year apprentice $24.39 (60%) an hour from May 1, 2026.
Does Local 4 pay a per diem?
Local 4's published rules have no per diem.
How is Local 4 overtime paid?
Overtime (New York's schedule, codes B, E, Q): every hour past 8 on a weekday is time and a half, with no step to double time; Saturday is time and a half for the first 10 hours, then double; Sundays and holidays are double time; Labor Day is triple time.
Sources
The agreements and schedules these numbers were read from. Built October 15, 2026 from the Insulator app, version 0.1.0.
Independent. Not affiliated with any union. Check your agreement.