Independent salary reference. Not affiliated with BLS, IBEW, NECA, or any electrical contractor. All wage figures cite the source; individual earnings vary by employer, certifications, and market.
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IBEW Local 48Portland & SW Washington

IBEW Local 48 Portland Pay Scale 2026

Journeyman base $65.50/hr, total package $95.79/hr

Portland OR and SW Washington inside wireman, 2026. Source: official IBEW Local 48 2026 wage information.

Base Wage65.50USD/hr
Total Package95.79USD/hr

Local 48 pay scale 2026, at a glance

The IBEW Local 48 commercial/industrial journey-level electrician (inside wireman) base wage is $65.50/hr in 2026, with a $95.79/hr total package. Employers pay $33.24/hr into health, pension, and NEBF funds on top of the base wage, and member union dues of $2.95/hr are netted out to reach the $95.79 package figure. The rates come from the inside agreement running January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026, whose final year added $4.00/hr of total compensation. Local 48 covers the Portland, Oregon metro and southwest Washington, the highest-paying state for electricians nationally.

Journeyman Total Package Breakdown

Commercial/industrial journey-level electrician, 2026 figures.

ComponentAmount
Base hourly wage$65.50/hr
Employer-paid fringe benefits$33.24/hr
Union dues (member-paid)-$2.95/hr
Total Package$95.79/hr

The $33.24/hr employer-paid fringe funds full-family health insurance through the Harrison Electrical Workers Trust, the Flex Benefits Plan, the Edison Pension Plan, the IBEW District 9 Pension Plan, and the National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF). Union dues of $2.95/hr are paid by the member. Base wage $65.50 plus employer fringe $33.24 less member dues $2.95 equals the $95.79/hr total package published by the local.

How Local 48 Scale Compares

Union hourly scale annualized at 2,080 hours, against the BLS statewide and national medians (actual annual pay depends on hours dispatched).

BenchmarkHourlyAnnualized
Local 48 total package$95.79$199,243
Local 48 base wage$65.50$136,240
Oregon statewide median (BLS, #1 state)$48.71$101,310
US national median (BLS)$30.38$63,190

Statewide and national figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians for occupation 47-2111. Oregon ranks #1 nationally for electrician pay. Union scale sits above the all-electrician state median because that median blends residential, non-union, and less-experienced workers, whereas Local 48 scale reflects fully-credentialed commercial/industrial journeymen.

Agreement Term and Jurisdiction

The Local 48 inside wireman agreement runs three years, from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026. The final year (2026) added $4.00/hr in total compensation, following $4.50/hr increases in each of the first two years.

Local 48's geographic jurisdiction runs from McMinnville to Madras, Oregon in the south, as far north as Woodland, Washington, and west to the Oregon Coast, covering the Portland metropolitan area and southwest Washington. The inside agreement covers roughly 4,209 members working in commercial and industrial construction.

Apprentices train through the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center (NIETC) five-year inside program and earn a progressing percentage of the journeyman scale. See the general electrician apprentice pay progression for how the ladder works.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IBEW Local 48 pay scale in 2026?
The IBEW Local 48 commercial/industrial journey-level electrician (inside wireman) base wage is $65.50/hr in 2026, with a total package of $95.79/hr once employer-paid fringe benefits of $33.24/hr are added and member-paid union dues of $2.95/hr are netted out. These figures come from the official IBEW Local 48 2026 wage information and the inside agreement running January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.
What is the Local 48 journeyman base hourly wage?
The IBEW Local 48 journey-level inside electrician base hourly wage is $65.50/hr in 2026. Employers also pay $33.24/hr into benefit funds (health, pension, and NEBF), so the total compensation package is $95.79/hr after the $2.95/hr member dues deduction.
What jurisdiction does IBEW Local 48 cover?
IBEW Local 48 covers the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area and southwest Washington. Its geographic jurisdiction runs from McMinnville to Madras, Oregon in the south, as far north as Woodland, Washington, and west to the Oregon Coast. The inside agreement covers roughly 4,209 members in commercial and industrial construction.
How does Local 48 pay compare to the Oregon electrician median?
Oregon has the highest statewide electrician median in the US at $101,310/yr ($48.71/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025. The Local 48 union base wage of $65.50/hr annualizes to about $136,240 at 2,080 hours, and the $95.79/hr total package annualizes to roughly $199,243 in wages plus benefit contributions. Union scale sits well above the all-electrician state median because that median blends residential, non-union, and less-experienced workers.
What benefits are in the Local 48 total package?
The $33.24/hr employer-paid fringe includes Harrison Electrical Workers Trust payments for full-family health insurance, the Flex Benefits Plan, Edison Pension Plan payments, IBEW District 9 Pension Plan payments, and National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF) contributions. Union dues of $2.95/hr are paid by the member.

Related Pages

Oregon Electrician SalaryIBEW Local 46 Seattle PayUnion vs Non-UnionPrevailing Wage

Source: official IBEW Local 48 2026 wage information (ibew48.com/join/2026-wage-information/): base wage $65.50/hr, employer fringe $33.24/hr, union dues $2.95/hr, total package $95.79/hr. Agreement term and increases: Northwest Labor Press (November 2023). Oregon and national medians: BLS OEWS May 2025 (occupation 47-2111).

Updated 2026-04-27