United Association Reaches a Record 400,000 Members as MCAA Calls the Partnership Its Strongest Ever

The people who build plumbing and mechanical systems have never been more numerous. At the United Association’s 41st General Convention, held August 17 through 21 in San Diego with 4,034 delegates, the UA reported record membership of more than 400,000, the largest in the union’s history. General President Mark McManus was reelected to a third term.

The training numbers were just as notable. McManus said the UA invests roughly $250 million a year in privately funded training and currently has nearly 70,000 apprentices in the piping trades. Mechanical Contractors Association of America President Curtis Harbour addressed the convention and said the relationship between the UA and MCAA has never been stronger, pointing to joint work on safety, recruitment, and mental health. Growth drivers discussed included advanced manufacturing, semiconductor fabs, energy projects, and data centers. Harbour closed with a reminder that craftsmanship will endure the test of time.

The convention also highlighted the UA’s training infrastructure, which includes more than 300 local training centers and an instructor training program that has run for decades at Washtenaw Community College in Michigan. That system is what allows the trades to scale up quickly when a region like the Southwest sees a surge in large, technically demanding projects.

Why it matters to JFN

Skilled labor is the constraint on every multifamily and student housing schedule in Arizona. The Phoenix market competes for the same plumbers and pipefitters as the semiconductor and data center boom, so a record membership base and a 70,000-strong apprentice pipeline are the most encouraging workforce signals the industry has had in years. Just as important, the emphasis on safety and mental health reflects what general contractors and student housing developers now ask about in prequalification. As a family-owned company that has spent nearly three decades building crews in Arizona, we see investment in training as the foundation of everything else we do.

Source: MCAA, August 31, 2026