$275 an hour is not unreasonable for a professional on a contract job even if they are young and inexperienced. (But competent)

Our company bills $250 per hour for IT folks, some of whom are recent graduates with a salary near $50,000

We bill $150 per hour for junior technicians.

our customers pay those rates because they are in line with what our competitors charge. Significantly less and we would be out of business.

I’m not surprised the union guys think that rate is unreasonable. They think pay should be based on seniority, not competence.

It is not like renting our a farm worker for cost plus $2 per hour. There is overhead involved professionals doing work for clients.