How the pay works
Not an offer.
An agreement.
What the trade pays across Newfoundland and Labrador is set by a negotiated schedule, not by whoever is hiring. Here is how that works, what rides on top of the hourly rate, and why the figure you found online isn’t it.
01
The rate is negotiated, not offered
You don't haggle for it and the contractor doesn't set it. It comes from the provincial agreement and applies on every signatory job.
Wages for Local 512 members come from the collective agreement between the local and the Construction Labour Relations Association. That agreement sets the wages, hours, dispatch rules, working conditions and benefit contributions that apply on every signatory job in Newfoundland and Labrador.
That means two things a job posting can't offer. Everyone working a given classification is on the same scale, so experience and skill decide where you go rather than who bargained hardest on hiring day. And the rate is written into an enforceable agreement rather than promised at an interview.
When the agreement is renegotiated, the increase reaches every member covered by it at once, on every signatory job in the province.
02
It steps up as you qualify
Four years and roughly 7,200 hours, paid from the first day, stepping up as you complete each block.
The apprenticeship runs four years and roughly 7,200 hours, combining in-school block-release training with on-the-job hours under signatory contractors, and leads to Red Seal certification.
You are paid from day one. An apprentice earns a defined share of the journeyperson rate, and that share steps up as blocks and hours are completed, reaching the full rate on certification. The progression is written into the agreement, so the raise arrives when you complete the level rather than when someone remembers to give it.
Because the in-school portion is part of a registered apprenticeship rather than tuition you take on first, you are earning across the whole period instead of paying to qualify and starting afterwards.
03
What rides on top of the hourly
Employer contributions on every hour worked are the part that never shows up in a salary survey.
Under the agreement, group health and welfare is administered by BPA Atlantic, covering drug, dental, vision, life and disability for members and their families. The pension is a defined-contribution plan built on every hour worked under the agreement.
The agreement also funds a training fund, so upgrading isn't a cost you carry alone, and confidential employee and family assistance support.
This is the single biggest reason a union rate and an online salary average are not comparable numbers. The survey captures an hourly figure. It does not capture the pension being funded beside it, hour by hour.
04
Why the number online is wrong
Job boards publish a blended average. It is not the rate, and it is usually well below it.
Search what this trade pays and you get figures from job boards and salary aggregators. Those are averages across everyone with a similar job title in the province: union and non-union, apprentice and journeyperson, full-time and seasonal, blended into a single number.
An average built that way sits below the negotiated journeyperson rate almost by construction, because it is dragged down by apprentices partway through their progression and by work covered by no agreement at all.
Members can see the actual schedule in the members' area. If you are weighing this trade against another and you are not a member yet, call the hall and ask.
05
Straight answers
- How are wages set for Local 512 members?
- Wages come from the collective agreement between Sheet Metal Workers Local 512 and the Construction Labour Relations Association (C.L.R.A.), which sets the wages, hours, dispatch rules, working conditions and benefit contributions that apply on every signatory job in Newfoundland and Labrador. Rates are not negotiated individually and are not set by the contractor. Members can view the current schedule in the members' area; anyone else can call the hall at (709) 754-1620.
- Do apprentices get paid while they train?
- Yes, from the first day. The apprenticeship runs four years and roughly 7,200 hours, combining in-school block-release training with on-the-job hours under signatory contractors. An apprentice earns a defined share of the journeyperson rate that steps up as blocks and hours are completed, reaching the full rate on Red Seal certification. The in-school portion is part of a registered apprenticeship rather than tuition paid up front.
- What do Local 512 members get besides the hourly rate?
- Under the agreement, group health and welfare is administered by BPA Atlantic, covering drug, dental, vision, life and disability for members and their families. The pension is a defined-contribution plan built on every hour worked under the agreement. The agreement also funds a training fund and confidential employee and family assistance support.
- Why is the union rate different from the average I see online?
- Salary aggregators and job boards publish a blended average across everyone with a similar job title in the province: union and non-union, apprentice and journeyperson, full-time and seasonal. That average sits below the negotiated journeyperson rate, because it is pulled down by apprentices partway through their progression and by work covered by no agreement. It also captures only the hourly figure, not the pension and health contributions funded beside it.
- Where do I find the current wage schedule for Local 512?
- Members can view the current wages and benefits in the members' area of this site after logging in. Rates change when the collective agreement is renegotiated, so that schedule is the authoritative source rather than any figure published elsewhere online. If you are not a member, call the hall at (709) 754-1620 or email smw@smwia512.ca.