Evansville, IN–John Bates serves as the Business Manager/Financial Secretary of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 136. 

Bates’ journey to his current job has been a long one. He started his apprentice program in 2002. Bates was born and raised in Patoka, Indiana, and graduated from Princeton Community High School in 1999. 

“I played sports in high school. I was not the type of guy out there working on cars or what I would call mechanically inclined,” said Bates. “I tried college for a little bit and realized it wasn’t for me. The best decision I ever made was coming into the Plumbers and Pipefitters.” 

In 2007 he graduated from his program as a combination welder along with an associate degree in applied science from Ivy Tech. After working in the field for a few years, Bates was appointed as a Business Agent. This change took him straight from working in the field to being in the office every day. He described it as almost another apprenticeship–shadowing people and gaining as much insight as he could. 

“I had a lot of great guys in front of me when I came in,” said Bates. “Those guys took me under their wing right off the bat.” 

This ‘second apprenticeship’ of working alongside his mentors paid off. In 2019 Bates was elected as Business Manager/Financial Secretary. He also serves on six committees within Local 136. 

His role as Business Manager allows him to work with a range of people every day. He stays in touch with people in the field working, in the office and building relationships outside of Local 136. He wants people to know that community involvement goes a long way to help people understand what unions are and why they are important for workers. 

One recent community event that Local 136 hosted was a Candidates Family Fun Day.  It was an opportunity for Local 136 members and their families to spend time together and meet local candidates.  This was a bi-partisan event where they were able to give tours of the facility to give a better understanding of what Local 136 members do every day.

He wants these relationships to be consistent. He and his team model their communication skills daily, not just when the need arises. 

Bates said working with good management partners makes his job easier. The Mechanical Contractors Association and the Local 136 have built an ongoing relationship to make contract negotiations every three years run smoother and make sure all needs are addressed. 

All of this makes for a big-time commitment. He commended his wife, Courtney Bates, for always supporting him and his role at the union. 

“She is very supportive of me with this job,” said Bates. “She knows that there are 1600 members that when they call or need something, wherever we are at, I’m going to pick up the phone.”