2026 wage determinations

IUEC Pay Scales: Elevator Mechanic Rates by Local

Written by a federally recognized pre-apprenticeship instructor  ·  Updated September 2026 ·  Test facts verified against NEIEP’s official study guide

Journeyman mechanic base rate, fringe and total package for 21 IUEC locals, covering 26 of NEIEP's 82 recruitment areas. Median mechanic scale is $61.41 an hour — roughly $127,700 a year at full time. Open any local to see its apprentice ladder in dollars.

Median mechanic
$61.41
base rate, per hour
Range
$51.11–$84.05
lowest to highest local
Top package
$122.59
wage + fringe
Locals rated
21/65
26 of 82 areas

Showing 21 of 21 locals with a citable union rate. Tap a row for its apprentice ladder in dollars.

LocalAreaMechanic
8San Francisco, CA +1$84.05
138Poughkeepsie, NY$76.12
1New York, NY$75.14
5Philadelphia, PA$71.85
2Chicago, IL$70.68
18Los Angeles/San Diego, CA +1$69.43
132Madison, WI$65.17
39Providence, RI$64.52
3Evansville, IN +1$62.73
44Toledo, OH$62.27
84Allentown, PA$61.41
34Indianapolis, IN$60.17
62Syracuse, NY$58.44
55Peoria, IL$57.99
35Albany, NY$57.73
11Cincinnati, OH$57.41
20Louisville, KY$56.57
33Des Moines, IA$56.30
93Nashville, TN$52.81
32Atlanta, GA +1$52.08
135Charlotte, NC +1$51.11

One national ladder, local dollar rates

The elevator trade is unusual: the apprentice wage ladder is set nationally, in the Standard Agreement between the IUEC and the National Elevator Bargaining Association. The same percentages apply at every local — 50% of the mechanic’s rate as a probationary apprentice, rising to 80% in the fourth year. Only the mechanic’s dollar rate is negotiated locally.

That is why opening a row above gives you a real number rather than an estimate: national percentages multiplied by that local’s actual determination rate. Full ladder and sourcing on the elevator apprentice pay page.

A useful cross-check. Comparing 6 locals’ own published 2020 mechanic rates against their 2026 federal determinations implies an annual increase of 3.27% with a standard deviation of just 0.05 percentage points. Two independent sources, six different locals, effectively the same escalation — which is what a single national agreement looks like from the outside.

Where these numbers come from

Each rate is a 2026 federal wage determination for a union elevator classification. When a determination covers a union classification, the rate in it is the local’s own negotiated rate for that county — the Department of Labor adopts the bargained rate wholesale. The determination identifier encodes the local number, which is how each rate is tied to a specific local rather than to a region. Every row links to its determination.

What is deliberately excluded:

  • Survey rates. Determinations in weakly-organised areas carry survey identifiers rather than union ones. Those are not union scale, which is why 44 locals carry no figure here.
  • Residential schedules, which sit below commercial mechanic scale.
  • Non-mechanic classifications. Some determinations list a low-voltage wiring scope for alarms and computers under an elevator local’s identifier — the local holds that work, but it is not the mechanic rate.

Where a local covers more than one recruitment area, the rate shown comes from the determination in the state named on the row, and every area it serves is listed when you open it. Rates move with each bargaining cycle, so the figures here are generated from the dataset rather than typed in — a refresh updates the tables and the summary numbers together.

Every determination cited on this page

The table above is interactive, which means its per-local source links only exist once you open a row — invisible to anything reading the page as plain HTML. So here they are server-rendered, one line per local, 21 in total.

LocalMechanic rateDetermination
Local 1New York, NY$75.14NY20260003
Local 2Chicago, IL$70.68IL20260008
Local 3Evansville, IN; St. Louis, MO$62.73IL20260001
Local 5Philadelphia, PA$71.85NJ20260041
Local 8San Francisco, CA; Northern Nevada$84.05CA20260018
Local 11Cincinnati, OH$57.41IN20260004
Local 18Los Angeles/San Diego, CA; Las Vegas, NV$69.43NV20260002
Local 20Louisville, KY$56.57IN20260004
Local 32Atlanta, GA; Savannah, GA$52.08GA20260084
Local 33Des Moines, IA$56.30IL20260001
Local 34Indianapolis, IN$60.17IN20260002
Local 35Albany, NY$57.73NY20260002
Local 39Providence, RI$64.52RI20260001
Local 44Toledo, OH$62.27IN20260002
Local 55Peoria, IL$57.99IL20260001
Local 62Syracuse, NY$58.44NY20260004
Local 84Allentown, PA$61.41NJ20260045
Local 93Nashville, TN$52.81GA20260104
Local 132Madison, WI$65.17IL20260001
Local 135Charlotte, NC; Myrtle Beach, SC$51.11GA20260104
Local 138Poughkeepsie, NY$76.12NY20260002

Related Resources

Sources: 2026 federal wage determinations (US Department of Labor), linked per local above; 2022-2027 NEBA Agreement (IUEC / National Elevator Bargaining Association), Article V, Par. 5-6 (wages); Article XIX, Par. 2 (program length); and BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers (May 2025).

Facts on this page trace to primary sources (NEIEP’s official study guide, BLS data) — see sources & methodology. Independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by the IUEC, NEIEP, or any union or testing organization.