Plumbers Local 27

What Plumbers Local 27 does

Plumbers Local 27 (legal name UA Local 27, DBA Pittsburgh Plumbers) is a chartered local of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry, representing approximately 1,120 union plumbers across 15 counties in Western Pennsylvania. Founded in 1890 and headquartered in Coraopolis, PA, the union delivers three core services: (1) collective bargaining on behalf of members with signatory contractors, (2) a 5-year apprenticeship program plus journeyman continuing education aligned to UA standards, including medical gas, backflow prevention, and foreman certifications, and (3) public-facing commercial and residential contractor directories that channel end-customer demand to ~50 signatory contractor firms operating in healthcare, education, hospitality, food service, energy, and general construction.

The organization is governed by elected leadership — a Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer, three zone-based Business Agents, President, Vice-President, and committees — supported by a 24-person administrative staff. Operations are distributed across a Coraopolis headquarters, a Coraopolis training center, an Erie training center, and a Harmony benefits office administered by CDS Administrators. The union's revenue is generated from member dues, $30 apprenticeship application fees, and $500 initiation fees; specific dues amounts are not publicly disclosed. The entity also partners with the Plumbing Contractors Association of Pittsburgh & Vicinity (since 1956) on a jointly administered pension fund.

From a technology standpoint, Plumbers Local 27 does not develop or sell software products, AI/ML systems, or proprietary digital platforms. Its technology footprint consists of a public website (ua27.org), member and contractor login portals, and a Dayforce-based applicant tracking system for apprenticeship hiring. The union's strategic differentiators are its talent pipeline, its jurisdictional exclusivity granted by the UA, and its 135-year regional reputation; expansion of these is currently pursued through advocacy for Pennsylvania SB 395 statewide plumber licensure rather than through technology investment.

Name

Plumbers Local 27

Legal name

UA Local 27

Website

https://ua27.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Plumbers Local 27 is a United Association-chartered labor union representing approximately 1,120 plumbers across 15 Western Pennsylvania counties, delivering collective bargaining, a 5-year apprenticeship program, and a contractor directory serving commercial and residential customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Union Services / Skilled Trades Training

NAICS

Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (238220), Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (23822)

SIC

Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700)

akta.pro primary industry

Plumbing & Pipefitting Contracting (IMAFALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pipefitting & Steamfitting (EDAOACAB), Plumbing Installation, Service & Repair (IMAIABAB)

Keywords

• Union plumbing services
• Apprenticeship training program
• Journeyman continuing education
• Labor union representation
• Collective bargaining agreements

Headquarters

HQ city

Coraopolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Union Membership Dues: Plumbers Local 27 generates revenue through member dues paid by its approximately 1,120 members. The union also collects initiation fees from new apprentices ($500 total, payable in two $250 installments). Revenue supports training programs, member services, and collective bargaining activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Plumbers Local 27 is a labor union representing approximately 1,120 plumbers across 15 counties in Western Pennsylvania. The union supplies trained plumbing labor to signatory contractors through collective bargaining agreements, provides a 5-year apprenticeship program with United Association-aligned training, and offers journeyman continuing education. It also maintains an online contractor directory connecting customers to union-affiliated plumbers for commercial and residential projects.

Product overview

Plumbers Local 27 is a labor union organization representing plumbers in the Pittsburgh/Erie region of Western Pennsylvania. The organization provides union representation, apprenticeship training programs, journeyman continuing education, and a contractor directory service. It does not offer software products, technology platforms, or digital services — its offerings consist entirely of labor union services, training programs, and contractor networking services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 5-Year Plumbing Apprenticeship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Union members earn 28 percent more than nonunion workers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Plumbers & Pipefitters Local #47coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013In 2013, the United Association consolidated the territories of Pittsburgh Plumbers Local #27 and Plumbers & Pipefitters Local #47, expanding Plumbers Local #27's jurisdiction to 15-counties across Western Pennsylvania.
• Plumbing Contractors Association of Pittsburgh & Vicinity, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 1956Established pension fund for eligible retired members of Local Union 27 through collective bargaining between Plumbers LU #27 and the Plumbing Contractors Association of Pittsburgh & Vicinity, Inc. This partnership provides retirement benefits to union members and establishes working standards.
• United Association (UA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 1890Plumbers Local 27 is a chartered local of the United Association, the premier organization for training the piping industry workforce. The UA has been training highly-qualified workers for over a century, spending over $100 million annually on training programs. Local 27's training programs align with UA standards and certifications including medical gas qualification, backflow prevention, and foreman certification.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC): APC is a statewide trade association representing Pennsylvania's heavy, highway, and utility contractors. It is adjacent to Local 27's operating environment because many of its members employ union trades workers (including Local 27 plumbers) on transportation and infrastructure projects throughout Pennsylvania.
• Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC): ABC is the largest U.S. trade association representing open-shop (non-union) commercial contractors. It is thematically comparable as the principal counter-organization to UA-style union construction labor, defining the competitive set Local 27's signatory contractors compete against for project bids.
• Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC): IEC is a national trade association for merit-shop electrical contractors. It is comparable as an alternative training and apprenticeship provider that competes with IBEW/UA apprenticeship programs for the same pool of skilled trades workers entering the construction industry.

Regional players

• IBEW Local No. 5 (Pittsburgh): IBEW Local 5 is the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local serving Western Pennsylvania. It is a regional peer because it is a building trades union operating in the same geographic territory, serving signatory contractors on commercial/industrial construction projects with the same dues-funded, apprenticeship-driven model.
• Steamfitters Local Union No. 449 (Pittsburgh): Steamfitters Local 449 is a UA-chartered sister local in the Pittsburgh region, representing pipefitters, HVAC service techs, and welders. It is highly comparable as a regional peer that shares the same parent (UA), overlapping jurisdiction in Western PA, and operates the same apprenticeship/contractor-network model in an adjacent trade.
• Ironworkers Local Union No. 3 (Pittsburgh): Ironworkers Local 3 represents structural ironworkers in Western PA. It is a regional peer building trades union operating in the same jurisdiction with the same collective bargaining and apprenticeship structure, serving commercial and industrial construction projects.
• Operating Engineers Local 66 (Pittsburgh): IUOE Local 66 represents heavy equipment operators and stationary engineers in Western PA. It is a regional peer building trades union sharing Pittsburgh geography, signatory contractor relationships on commercial/industrial projects, and the same membership dues + apprenticeship training model.

Direct peers

• Plumbers Local 130 (Chicago): Plumbers Local 130 represents plumbers in the Chicagoland area under the same UA apprenticeship, training, and collective bargaining model. It is directly comparable in terms of structure, services offered (apprenticeship, journeyman training, contractor directory), and revenue model.
• Plumbers Local Union No. 1 (New York City): Plumbers Local 1 is the largest UA-chartered plumbers local in the U.S., representing thousands of plumbers across NYC. It is a direct peer because it operates the same business model (member dues, apprenticeship, signatory contractors, collective bargaining) in a different metropolitan market, making it the closest analog for benchmarking scale and operations.

Broad incumbents

• United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Service Techs (UA): The UA is the international union that charters Plumbers Local 27. It is the national organizing body for the plumbing and pipefitting trades in the U.S. and Canada and operates the centralized training infrastructure that Local 27 leverages. It is the broadest comparable entity, of which Local 27 is one chartered local.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plumbers-local-27

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plumbers Local 27