About Us

Discover Our Story 

We Train & Connect Skilled Workers to Great Career Opportunities

The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States, Canada (UA), affiliated with the national building trades, represents approximately 355,000 plumbers, pipefitters, sprinkler fitters, service technicians and welders in local unions across North America. We also honor a federation agreement with both the Australian Plumbing Trades Employees Union (PTEU) and Irish Technical, Engineering Electrical Union (TEEU).


The UA has been training qualified pipe tradesmen and women longer than anyone else in the industry. We provide the premier training programs available in the industry today, including five-year apprenticeship programs, extensive journeyman training, a comprehensive, five-year instructor training program, and numerous certification programs. We help our signatory contractors grow their market share by identifying new opportunities, providing support and connecting them to the safest, most skilled and most highly trained workforce in the industry. 

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44

Apprentices in Training

280

Active Journeyman

400

Total Members

100+

Years of Service

Our Team

We are committed to being the leading Pipefitter, Plumber & Skilled Worker Union in the region. We deliver on our promise to churn out highly-qualified Skilled Workers & place them in excellent jobs with our Signatory Contractor Network. Here are the faces behind the scenes that allow us to make this happen!

United Association Local 538 Union Hall & Training Center Team Members, Mentors, & Staff

Our Values

Here at UA Local 538, we go beyond Apprenticeships & Business Partnerships to focus on morals, values, & disciplines for a successful life & career. We know that all of the training in the world will only take us so far and that our Signatory Contractors & Business Partners depend on us to operate under the highest ethical standards. Our word is our bond! And we aim to pass these disciplines down to our Apprentices & Journeymen as Members of UA Local 538.


We're not just here to educate & train Skilled Laborers, but to usher them in as responsible members of our community and/or the communities they'll be joining as they enter the workforce. The image to the right shows what is printed on the main wall of our Union Hall & Training Center and this sums up our values nicely. We've printed it there to ensure we pass it along. These 10 rules are the pillars of our organization, and we refer back to them frequently during the Apprenticeship Training Process. We're in the business of building futures through solid careers & fruitful business partnerships. That's what makes us Local 538 strong!

United Association Local 538 Union Hall & Training Center Values written on training center wall

Our Jurisdiction

Tennessee State Flag slightly wrinkled as it lays on a flat surface

Tennessee

  • Carter County, TN
  • Greene County, TN
  • Hawkins County, TN
  • Johnson County, TN
  • Sullivan County, TN
  • Unicoi County, TNJ
  • Washington County, TN
  • Johnson City, TN
  • Elizabethton, TN
  • Bristol, TN
  • Kingsport, TN
Virginia State Flag slightly wrinkled as it lays on a flat surface

Virginia

  • Lee County, VA
  • Russell County, VA
  • Scott County, VA
  • Smyth County, VA
  • Washington County, VA
  • Wise County, VA
  • Bristol, VA
  • Abingdon, VA
  • Wise, VA
  • Jonesville, VA
  • Lebanon, VA
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