Home / Washington / Heating Equipment Mechanic / Whatcom County group
Washington · Heating Equipment Mechanic · 3 counties
Heating Equipment Mechanic prevailing wage, Whatcom County group, Washington (3 counties)
L&I sets the same heating equipment mechanic rates, row for row, in 3 counties: San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.
$103.56an hour, base wage + fringe benefits · Mechanic
$68.05 base wage + $35.51 fringe benefits
On Washington public works in each of these 3 counties, a heating equipment mechanic working as mechanic must be paid at least $103.56 an hour in total: $68.05 in wages plus $35.51 in fringe benefits for health, pension, vacation, training and other plans. L&I's rate took effect March 4, 2026.
L&I published this rate on February 2, 2026 and it took effect March 4, 2026. L&I hasn't changed it since, so it is still current in period 2026-2. Checked against L&I's wage lookup on October 24, 2026.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $68.05 + $35.51
The wage is the taxable hourly rate. The other lines are what Washington law calls "usual benefits": contributions to health, pension, vacation and holiday, apprenticeship and similar plans. A contractor that doesn't provide a benefit pays its value as wages instead (RCW 39.12.010).
| Base wage (taxable) | $68.05 |
| Health and welfare | $15.18 |
| Pension | $17.84 |
| Training | $1.27 |
| Other benefits | $1.22 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $103.56 |
Set from: collective bargaining agreement, Standard Form of Union Agreement Sheet Metal, Roofing, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Contracting Divisions of the Construction Industry. - Bellingham CBA. Where a county has a collective bargaining agreement, L&I adopts its wage and benefits; with more than one, the higher rate prevails. Otherwise L&I uses wage surveys (RCW 39.12.015).
When does this rate change?
- Rates lock at the bid date. A project uses “the rates that are in effect on the date when bids by prime contractors are due”, and they stay for the life of the contract. If the contract isn't awarded within six months of the bid date, the award-date rates apply. Contracts without bids use the date they're signed (WAC 296-127-011).
- L&I publishes on the first business day of February and August, and rates take effect 30 days later. Corrections can be published at any time and also take effect 30 days later (WAC 296-127-011(1); L&I publications and corrections). L&I's next set is due February 1, 2027, effective March 3, 2027.
- L&I doesn't republish every rate each period. A rate stays until L&I changes it, so each one has its own date. This one was published February 2, 2026 and took effect March 4, 2026.
Holidays
L&I holiday code 7F:
Holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, the last working day before Christmas Day and Christmas Day (8). Any holiday which falls on a Sunday shall be observed as a holiday on the following Monday. Any holiday which falls on a Saturday shall be observed as a holiday on the preceding Friday.
How the Whatcom County group compares
The main heating equipment mechanic rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and in the nearest counties. All bars use the same scale.
Every county in Washington
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Whatcom County groupbase $68.05$103.56
- Skagit Countybase $68.05$103.56
- Snohomish Countybase $72.36$107.92
- San Juan Countybase $68.05$103.56
Which county is in which heating equipment mechanic group
Every Washington county with a heating equipment mechanic rate. Counties L&I treats alike share one page; the rest have their own. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done.
| Counties | Main classification | Base wage | Total rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County group, 14 counties: Clallam, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum | Journey Level | $72.36 | $107.92 |
| Whatcom County group, 3 counties: San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom | Mechanic | $68.05 | $103.56 |
| Clark County group, 2 counties: Clark, Skamania | Mechanic | $57.99 | $95.17 |
| Yakima County group, 8 counties: Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Walla Walla, Yakima | Journey Level | $52.50 | $86.34 |
| Spokane County group, 12 counties: Adams, Asotin, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman | Journey Level | $50.83 | $85.41 |
5 groups of counties with identical L&I rates, and 0 counties with rates of their own.
Washington heating equipment mechanic prevailing wage by county, with a map
More from L&I on this rate
- Scope of work, WAC 296-127-01333: which tasks this trade covers. L&I says the right classification “depends upon determinations published by L&I” (L&I).
- L&I's prevailing wage lookup, for any county, trade and bid date
- Apprentices: registered apprentices are paid L&I's apprentice rate for the trade. Anyone without a registered agreement counts as a journey-level worker (RCW 39.12.021).
Every trade's rates, county by county: San Juan · Skagit · Whatcom
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $103.56. Each contractor files an L&I-approved Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages before it's paid, and an Affidavit of Wages Paid when the job is accepted (RCW 39.12.040). On contracts over $10,000 the approved intent and L&I's contact details are posted on the job site (RCW 39.12.020).
Source
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, prevailing wage lookup, Heating Equipment Mechanics (HEEQ), published February 2, 2026, effective March 4, 2026: secure.lni.wa.gov/wagelookup/. L&I keeps a wage record for each county; for the row this page leads with:
- San Juan County: L&I wage record 149323
- Skagit County: L&I wage record 149323
- Whatcom County: L&I wage record 149323
Each figure comes from L&I's lookup and is checked against L&I's CSV export and a second, separate query. How we check · Download every Washington rate as CSV · Report an error