Union painter wages in California run from about $39 to $57 per hour in base pay for a journeyman, and total compensation reaches $60 to over $90 per hour once health, pension, and other fringe contributions are added. Rates are set through collective bargaining between the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Councils and contractor associations. District Council 16 covers Northern California and parts of Northern Nevada; District Council 36 covers Southern California. Each council negotiates its own agreement, so what you earn depends heavily on the county and on whether the work is commercial, repaint, or industrial.
Journeyman Base Rates by Region
In Northern California, District Council 16’s San Francisco County wage schedule effective January 2025 sets the journeyman base rate at $57.00 per hour.1IUPAT District Council 16. Northern California Painters Master Agreement – San Francisco County Wage Schedule Other counties in DC 16 have their own schedules that may be lower, reflecting local market conditions.
In Southern California, the DC 36 Master Labor Agreement effective July 2025 through June 2026 breaks commercial and repaint journeyman base wages out by region:2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule
- Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego Counties: $43.42 per hour
- Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties: $41.34 per hour
- Kern, Mono, Inyo Counties, and Antelope Valley: $38.98 per hour
Industrial painting pays more across the board. The DC 36 industrial journeyman rate is $47.32 per hour regardless of region within the council’s territory.2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule The gap between commercial and industrial reflects the added skills, certifications, and hazard exposure that industrial projects demand.
Fringe Benefits and the Total Package
Base wage is only part of what a union painter earns. On top of every hour worked, the contractor pays mandatory contributions to health insurance, a pension fund, apprenticeship training, and other funds. In the DC 36 commercial sector for the Los Angeles and San Diego regions, those contributions break out as follows:2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule
- Health and welfare: $9.20 per hour
- Pension fund: $3.05 per hour
- Apprenticeship fund: $0.75 per hour
- Labor-Management Cooperation Committee (LMCC): $1.21 per hour
Add base wage, vacation pay, and all fringes together, and a DC 36 commercial journeyman in Los Angeles or San Diego earns a total package of $63.67 per hour. Industrial journeymen reach $67.97 per hour.2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule Northern California packages run higher because the underlying wages are higher, with San Francisco prevailing wage totals exceeding $88 per hour for standard painters and $93 per hour for bridge painters.
When you see a union wage figure quoted, check whether it includes fringes. The base rate is what appears in your paycheck. The fringe contributions flow to trust funds that pay for health coverage, retirement, and training. That money is real compensation, but you never see it as cash in hand.
Apprentice Pay
Apprentice painters earn a percentage of the full journeyman rate that climbs with each completed training period. Under District Council 16, apprentices begin at 50 percent of scale and advance through ten six-month periods, gaining five percentage points at each step: 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, and finally 95 percent.1IUPAT District Council 16. Northern California Painters Master Agreement – San Francisco County Wage Schedule DC 16 also has a pre-apprentice classification at 30 percent of scale, or the minimum wage, whichever is higher.
District Council 36’s apprentice scale starts slightly lower at 49 percent and runs through eight periods rather than ten, topping out around 76 percent of the journeyman rate in the Los Angeles region.3Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement In dollar terms under current DC 36 commercial rates, a first-period apprentice in Los Angeles earns roughly $21 per hour, and a top-period apprentice earns around $33 per hour before reaching full journeyman status.
Each period requires a set number of on-the-job hours and classroom instruction. Programs typically require several thousand total work hours and hundreds of classroom hours before an apprentice qualifies for journeyman certification.1IUPAT District Council 16. Northern California Painters Master Agreement – San Francisco County Wage Schedule You earn less during training, but the raises are scheduled and the route to full scale is clearly defined.
Foreman Premiums
Painters who supervise crews earn hourly premiums above scale. Under DC 36’s current agreement, a foreman on a job with three or more employees earns $2.00 per hour above scale. The premium rises to $3.00 per hour for crews of five to ten workers, and $4.00 per hour for jobs with eleven or more workers.2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule At the employer’s discretion, a general foreman may also be designated, earning $2.00 per hour more than the highest-paid employee they directly supervise.
These premiums are written into the Master Labor Agreement, so once the crew size hits the threshold they are mandatory. A DC 36 commercial foreman supervising a crew of six in Los Angeles, for example, earns $46.42 per hour in base wages ($43.42 plus $3.00). District Council 16 has its own foreman premium structure defined in its agreements, which varies by county.
Overtime Pay
California requires overtime pay after eight hours in a single workday, not just after 40 hours in a week like federal law. Hours nine through twelve in a day pay at one and a half times the regular rate. Hours beyond twelve in a day pay at double time.4Department of Industrial Relations. Overtime On the seventh consecutive day of work in a week, the first eight hours pay at time and a half and everything after that at double time.
For a DC 36 commercial journeyman in Los Angeles earning $43.42 per hour, overtime hours are worth $65.13 and double-time hours reach $86.84. In San Francisco, where the prevailing wage base rate is $59.72, overtime runs $89.58 per hour. Those numbers add up quickly on projects with tight deadlines or extended schedules.
Union agreements may also include shift differentials for swing and graveyard shifts. The specific premiums are spelled out in the applicable Master Labor Agreement or project-specific labor agreement.
Prevailing Wages on Public Works
Publicly funded construction in California carries its own wage floor that closely tracks union scale. State law requires contractors on public works to pay no less than the prevailing wage determined by the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations.5Department of Industrial Relations. Prevailing Wage Requirements The determinations are based on local collective bargaining agreements, which is why the numbers usually match union rates.
The prevailing wage includes both the base hourly pay and the fringe benefit contributions. For 2026, San Francisco County determinations set these total hourly rates:6Department of Industrial Relations. General Prevailing Wage Determination SFR-2026-1
- Painter: $59.72 base, $88.74 total hourly rate
- Industrial painter: $62.47 base, $91.49 total hourly rate
- Bridge painter: $64.47 base, $93.49 total hourly rate
Los Angeles County rates are lower but still substantial:7Department of Industrial Relations. General Prevailing Wage Determination LOS-2026-1
- Painter: $43.42 base, $63.67 total hourly rate
- Industrial painter: $47.32 base, $67.97 total hourly rate
The Los Angeles figures are almost identical to DC 36’s private-sector union rates, which follows from the fact that the Department of Industrial Relations uses collective bargaining agreements as the basis for its determinations.
Looking Up Current Rates
Rates change on a regular schedule, and using outdated numbers causes problems for workers checking their pay stubs and for contractors bidding jobs.
For public works, the California Department of Industrial Relations publishes the Director’s General Prevailing Wage Determinations online. They are updated twice a year, on February 22 and August 22, and list the base hourly rate, fringe requirements, and overtime rates for every covered trade by county.8Department of Industrial Relations. Research – Frequently Asked Questions – Prevailing Wage You can look up the specific determination for painters in any California county through the DIR portal.9California Department of Industrial Relations. Directors General Prevailing Wage Determinations
For private-sector union work, the applicable wage schedule comes from the Master Labor Agreement maintained by your District Council. DC 16 publishes county-specific wage sheets for Northern California on its website.10District Council 16. Northern California Painters Master Agreement DC 36 publishes its wage and contribution schedules through the Southern California Painters and Decorators LMCC Office.2Southern California Painters & Decorators LMCC Office. Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 36 Master Labor Agreement Wage and Contribution Schedule If you are unsure which schedule applies to a particular job site, contact the local union hall. The jurisdiction maps are strictly defined, and using the wrong county’s rate creates compliance issues for the contractor and underpayment issues for the worker.