LOCAL 474 · UBC 39°57′N · 75°08′W · DELAWARE RIVER DISPATCH · MIX 20/20 · 1·800·735·1829 ORGANIZED 1913
Piledrivers & Divers Local 474 · Wharf & Dock Builders · UBC
Chartered 1913 · Philadelphia · UBC

The union that drives the pile,
walks the deck,
and works below the water.

Local 474 is the marine construction local of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters — piledrivers, wharf and dock builders, and commercial divers, working every port, bridge, pier and pipeline from the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake, from the Jersey Shore to D.C.

Become a member → Hire our members →
Members on the roll
800+
Signatory contractors
150+
Jurisdiction
PA · NJ · DE · MD · DC · VA
Apprenticeship
4-year, debt-free
Below

§ 01 · What we do

A brotherhood built at the water line.

For over a century, Local 474 has put America's ports, bridges, wharves and pipelines in the ground — and kept them there. Our members drive the steel and timber piles that anchor cities. They build the wharves that move commerce. They dive beneath ships, bridges and rigs to weld, cut, inspect and rebuild the infrastructure the rest of the country never sees.

We are a UBC local, part of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. Every member is trained, tested, certified — and paid the area rate. That's what union means.

§ 02 · The crafts

Five trades.
One roster.

Local 474 members carry the full marine construction ticket — from the first pile driven through to the last dive on inspection. Employers hire one crew and get the whole scope covered by journeymen who trained on our floor.

  1. TR · 01 Pile driving crane and hammer over water at dusk

    Piledriving

    Steel, timber, concrete. Diesel hammer, hydraulic, vibratory. The foundation of every port, bridge, and pier we build.
  2. TR · 02 Commercial diver descending on a surface-supplied umbilical

    Commercial diving

    Surface-supplied air, mixed gas, penetration and no-viz. Inspection, welding, cutting, salvage. UBC-certified from the Hammonton dive tank.
  3. TR · 03 Newly built timber wharf and dock at golden hour

    Wharf & dock building

    Fixed and floating piers, ferry terminals, cargo wharves, fender systems. Timber, composite and cast-in-place concrete decks.
  4. TR · 04 Rigger signaling a crane load on a marine construction site

    Rigging & signaling

    Critical picks, tandem lifts, barge-to-shore transfers. NCCCO-certified. Every apprentice trained on hand signals, radio and load charts.
  5. TR · 05 Welder working on a marine steel structure

    Structural & wet welding

    Topside SMAW and FCAW on sheet pile, H-pile, and steel deck. Wet welding on piles, hulls and outfall pipe. Tested at the Hammonton training center.
  6. TR · 06

    Every scope on the water.

    Cofferdams. Sheet piling. Bridge fender repair. Marine demolition. Offshore wind foundations. Outfall pipe. Dredging support. See the full trade breakdown →

The mark · the ring · the roll

A number carried by four generations of men and women who work the water — stamped on the hardhat, sewn into the jacket, called across the deck.

Chartered
1913 · Philadelphia
Affiliated
UBC · EASRCC
Jurisdiction
PA · NJ · DE · MD · DC · VA
The roll
Piledrivers · Dockbuilders · Divers

What the roll stands for

Five clauses. Nothing more.

  1. We drive the pile true, and we drive it plumb, and we drive it once.
  2. We square the deck. We seal the wall. We do the work the water asks for.
  3. We take the dive when the water is dark, and we come back up together.
  4. We look after the apprentice as we were looked after — the roll outlives any of us.
  5. We answer the call. We show up. We finish the job.

§ 03 · The path

Four years.
Zero debt.
A career on the water.

Local 474's apprenticeship is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and run out of the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Training Center in Hammonton, NJ. You earn while you learn — full journeyman wages by year four, plus health, welfare, pension and annuity from day one.

  • 4-year, 4,000-hour registered apprenticeship
  • Full medical & dental for you and your family
  • Defined-benefit pension + annuity + IAP
  • OSHA 30, aerial lift, fall protection, rigger & signal person
  • GWO — offshore wind qualified
  • Commercial dive school for qualifying journeymen
How to apply → Call the hall · 215·569·1632

§ 04 · Members

On the roll?
Get on a job.

Local 474 dispatches through Mix 20/20. Sign in every 30 days to keep your work-ready status active and take the next call.

Mix 20/20 hotline1·800·735·1829
You'll need8-digit UBC ID + 4-digit PIN
Renew statusEvery 30 days · at minimum
Hall (Philadelphia)215·569·1632
Health & Welfare (PA/NJ/DE)215·568·0430
Zenith (DC/MD/VA)301·839·8800
Full dispatch info →

§ 05 · The wall

The waterfront you use.
Somebody had to build it.

Every bridge, terminal, refinery pier and outfall along the Mid-Atlantic coast rests on driven pile, welded steel, and inspection dives. A partial map of the infrastructure in our jurisdiction — work that 474 crafts have made, mended, or gone underwater for.

A partial map. A hundred and thirteen years of the roll doesn't fit on one page.

Compiled from public records · 2026

§ 06 · For contractors

The trained crew,
on time, on spec.

When you sign with Local 474, you get first-call access to the best trained marine construction workforce on the East Coast — piledrivers, dockbuilders and commercial divers who've been vetted, certified, and drilled at the Hammonton training center. Kiewit, Weeks Marine, Walsh, Schiavone and Hayward Baker already do it. So can you.

Signatory contractors → Become a signatory →

§ 07 · Since 1913

One hundred and thirteen years
on the waterfront.

  1. 1913

    Local 454, the first pile drivers & wharf builders local in Philadelphia, is chartered. Local 474 traces its line to that hall.

  2. 1930s

    Members build out the WPA-era timber wharves along the Delaware River — some of which are still standing.

  3. 1940s

    Wartime shipyard buildout at Philadelphia Naval Yard, Camden, and Wilmington. Divers salvage the tonnage that keeps merchant convoys moving.

  4. 1970s

    The Michael J. Dooley Scholarship is founded to send members' kids to college — a program that still writes checks every fall.

  5. 2000s

    Consolidated into the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters — 30,000+ members strong across seven states.

  6. Today

    474 members build the offshore wind foundations, ferry terminals, bridge rehabs and container-port berths for the next century of the Mid-Atlantic waterfront.

§ 08 · The floor

Third Friday.
7:30 sharp.

Local Union meetings are held the third Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m., excluding August. Two locations, alternating cadence — Philadelphia and Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Every member on the roll is expected to make the floor.

Northern hall

Philadelphia

1803 SPRING GARDEN ST · PHILADELPHIA · PA 19130

215·569·1632

Southern hall

Upper Marlboro

EAS CARPENTERS · UPPER MARLBORO · MD

410·375·0048

§ 09 · Get on the roll

The next generation of
marine builders starts here.

Whether you're eighteen and looking for a way up, a veteran hanging up the uniform, a diver looking for real work, or a contractor who needs a trained crew tomorrow — the door is open. Come see the hall.

Apply for the apprenticeship → Contact the local →