IBEW advantage
Discover the life-changing benefits of IBEW Local 520 membership.
IBEW Local 520 is your key to unparalleled advantages
As a member of IBEW Local 520, you gain access to a world of exclusive benefits designed to enhance your career, secure your future, and provide for your family. Our comprehensive advantage package sets us apart from non-union electrical contractors, offering you the support and resources you need to thrive in the electrical industry.
From competitive wages and full health insurance to retirement benefits and job security, IBEW Local 520 is committed to ensuring that our members receive the best possible compensation and support throughout their careers.
Discover the life-changing benefits that come with being a part of our union family and take your career to new heights with IBEW Local 520.
A skilled workforce above all others
IBEW Local 520 provides quality training through an electrical apprenticeship
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was founded for a number of reasons, including the right to train a workforce of highly skilled electricians. IBEW Local 520, through the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, proudly trains the region’s top licensed electricians.
A large number of IBEW Local 520 electricians start their careers as apprentices.
As apprentices, they receive on-the-job training in order to learn the trade from experienced journeymen. In addition to completing a certain number of on-the-job hours, apprentices must also complete a set number of classroom hours. Apprentices must attend these classes, which are taught by accredited professionals, who have experience in teaching and working as an electrician.
Once electricians complete the four-year apprenticeship program, they become journeymen and receive a pay raise.
Journeymen electricians are encouraged to continue their training. Upgrade courses are available so journeymen can obtain the latest and most advanced electrical industry certifications. This allows them to stay up-to-date on the latest industry technology, trends and tools.
Also, both apprentices and journeymen receive industry leading OSHA training to help keep them safe on jobsites.
IBEW Local 520 is proud to partner with the Central Texas Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to fund the Austin Electrical Training Alliance (AustinETA), which is a state-of-the-art facility, located in Austin, where the area’s top electricians are trained.
IBEW Local 520 Wage Scale
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 520 has a set wage scale, which is the same for all its contractors.
Apprentices start out earning a livable wage. As they progress through the apprenticeship program, they begin to earn scheduled raises. When they complete their fifth-year of apprenticeship, they “top out” and receive their final scheduled pay raise.
Journeyman electricians earn an hourly base rate. Raises are stated in writing and negotiated between Local 520 and its contractors.
Local 520 also ensures electricians, who work more than 40-hours per week, will be paid one and a half times their normal hourly rate for every hour beyond 40 hours. Similarly, working on Sundays and holidays nets Local 520 electricians double their normal hourly rate.
With IBEW Local 520, men and women of all races are paid an equal, fair wage.
Please note that these wages provided below do not include benefits.
Wages effective January 1, 2024
Apprentices
50% 1st year
$17.50, with benefits $22.19
55% 1st year, 2nd 6 months
$19.25, with benefits $24.57
60% 2nd year
$21.00, with benefits $26.42
70% 3rd year
$24.50, with benefits $30.62
75% 4th year
$26.25 with benefits $32.51
Journeymen
Base Scale:
$35.00, with benefits $44.76
Foreman:
$38.50, with benefits $48.65
Area Foreman:
$42.00 with benefits $52.53
General Foreman:
$45.50, with benefits $56.42
Construction Electrician
Level 10
85% of base scale
$29.75, with benefits $36.04
Level 9
78% of base scale
$27.30, with benefits $33.64
Level 8
73% of base scale
$25.55 with benefits $31.75
Level 7
68% of base scale
$23.80, with benefits $29.86
Level 6
64% of base scale
$22.40, with benefits $27.90
Level 5
59% of base scale
$20.65, with benefits $26.05
Level 4
54% of base scale
$18.90, with benefits $24.19
Level 3
49% of base scale
$17.15, with benefits $21.47
Level 2
44% of base scale
$15.40, with benefits $19.67
Level 1
44% of base scale
$15.40, with benefits $18.62
Take Charge of your career
Comprehensive member benefits
Find out the life-changing benefits you can receive by joining IBEW
A career as an electrician through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 520 can yield many benefits for you and your family.
Wages
One of the main benefits is the ability to provide for yourself and your family by bringing home a livable wage. From first-year apprentice to seasoned journeyman, all Local 520 electricians earn an hourly wage that allows them to live comfortably. This wage does not vary based on gender or race, but is based on experience in the trade. Progression in the trade can be made in multiple ways. A tradesmen or tradeswomen can work their way through the apprenticeship, you can progress as a CW or CE or you can work your way up within a company — becoming a foreman, area foreman, general foreman and beyond.
Health Insurance
IBEW Local 520 members and their family receive full health insurance. The healthcare plan covers the member, their spouse and any dependents. This cost is entirely covered by Local 520 contractors, including premiums. Since our contractors cover healthcare costs, members see more money on their paycheck compared to a non-union electrical worker. For example, if a non-union contractor is charging a worker $640 per month for family health insurance, that equates to $4 per hour during a 40 hour week that could be on a worker’s paycheck.
Local 520 members also receive a form of life insurance. If a member passes away, every member contributes to a fund that provides the member’s surviving family with a level of financial support. This support goes beyond paying for the cost of services, as it helps to cover any financial hardships encountered by the loss of their loved one. The membership contributions not only help support the family, but help them know they are part of the Local 520 family.
Member Retirement
IBEW Local 520 also provides two different retirement benefits for its member electricians. Our members are invested in annuity plans, which are like 401k plans, but the employer is required to make contributions equal to a percentage of the employee’s wages. Under this plan, employee contributions are optional, but can help enhance the amount received during retirement.Additionally, after completing their career and retiring, IBEW 520 members receive a healthy pension.
Members only pay for hand tools
Thanks to our Collective Bargaining Agreement and relationship with Local 520 signatory contractors, Local 520 members are only required to provide a short list of hand tools. The employer supplies all power tools, batteries, ladders, hole saws and other large tools and equipment.
Items can go missing on job sites, as it is not uncommon for contractors to mix up equipment. If this happens, Local 520 members should not panic. Equipment replacements are paid for by the contractor, not out of the member’s pocket.
Also, the signatory contractor provides all necessary personal protective equipment. Members are not required to pay for their own safety glasses, hardhats, harnesses or other safety equipment.
Multi-jurisdictional membership
IBEW membership is valid nationwide. Electricity works the same everywhere, so IBEW electricians can go anywhere in the country where there is available work. Local 520 members also know that if they have to move, they can find good employment opportunities just about anywhere they desire to live.
If you are someone who wants to go after large projects with lots of hours and available overtime, Local 520 is the organization for you. Many of our members prefer to work on these types of jobs, and our established network of tradesmen and tradeswomen can help you identify which projects offer plenty of hours and overtime, while identifying economical places to stay throughout the job.
Working under a contract
The most important benefit Local 520 members enjoy is the security of working under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). With a contract, items such as raises are strictly spelled out in writing. Members can refer to their CBA to find out the exact date and amount of their next raise. Working conditions are also written out in the contract and cannot be changed by the contractor or the Local without mutual agreement. Retirement and healthcare benefits are also clearly stated in the CBA and they transfer between employers, so no matter who you work for, your benefits stay current and the employer can never take them away.
Combined, these benefits make a career as a member of IBEW Local 520 beneficial to you and your family.
Steady employment opportunities
One of the advantages of being a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 520 is job placement opportunities.
As a member of Local 520, electricians can choose from a list of contractors with available jobs posted on our website. This means they do not have to search for work because the Local does it for them.
Check job calls
All Local 520 members have the ability to sign the “Out of Work” book when they are not working due to a lay-off, volunteer quit or termination for cause.
After signing the book, when work becomes available in the area, you will be put to work for a different contractor, who is lacking the manpower to meet the demands of their workload.If work is slow in the Local 520 jurisdiction, but there is a need for manpower in another area, Local 520 members can travel to other IBEW Locals and “sign the book” to be put to work in that area.
As an apprentice, IBEW Local 520 members will be placed with a Local 520 contractor, so they can earn while they learn. This means apprentices work on-the-job alongside experienced journeyman electricians, learning how to perform the work, while also taking mandatory class instruction as well.