Masonry Magazine July 1961 Page. 18
LEAD
MAN...
PORTRAIT OF AN EXECUTIVE
Harry Clay Bates, 78-year-old President of the Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union of America, has in his long career hewn a unique place for himself in the American labor movement, the BM&PIU itself, and in the hearts of its members.
President Bates, who began his bricklaying career in 1900 in St. Louis, Mo., was born in Denton, Texas, on November 22, 1882, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Davis Bates. Following early schooling, he picked up the trowel and began laying brick throughout the Midwest and Southwest. In 1900 he joined the union in St. Louis.
By 1905, Mr. Bates had left St. Louis and returned to Dallas, Texas. In 1910, he became President of Local 5 in Dallas. Four years later, he was elected President of the Texas State Conference of Bricklayers and served as legislative representative in Austin, the state capital.
From there, his climb was rapid. In 1916, he became International Representative: in 1920, Ninth Vice President: in 1924, Treasurer, and by 1928 he had become First Vice President. When President Charles B. Thornton died in 1935, Mr. Bates was named by the Executive Council to fill the vacancy. In 1936, he was elected President of the International at the convention in Buffalo, N. Y.
Mr. Bates efforts in behalf of the International and trade unionism represent a spirit of personal dedication. In furthering them, he has continued over the years to drive himself harder than much younger men, despite the fact that he was voted the title of President Emeritus at the International convention in San Francisco in 1948 with a lifetime retirement settlement.
His contributions to the Federal Government have been many, including membership on the War Labor Adjustment Board from 1942 to 1946, and membership on the Wage Stabilization Board from January, 1951, to February, 1953.
Mr. Bates has been continuously active in the administrative affairs of the American Federation of Labor and later, of the AFL-CIO. He had been chairman of the AFL Housing Committee since 1943 and has conferred with world leaders in many fields.
Another abiding interest of President Bates has been improvements in housing, public and private. His motto has been: Build solidly: built to last. The only building material which permits this, he has long emphasized, is brick.
At present, President Bates and his wife Marguerite, to whom he has been married for more than 30 years, maintain an apartment in the BM&PIU headquarters building in Washington and a winter home in Golden Beach, Fla. A friend and confidant of President Bates, asked if Mr. Bates had any hobbies, said: "One: The American labor movement."
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