Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-077

Nixon phone call with Shultz on John B. Connally and Pay Board

Tuesday, November 2, 1971 · 3:07 PM–3:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Shultz, George P.Conversation013-077 on Tape 13 (tape position 02:47:14–02:50:23)StartTuesday, November 2, 1971 at 3:07 PMEndTuesday, November 2, 1971 at 3:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-077 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417190369 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs George P. Shultz to maintain direct communication with Treasury Secretary John B. Connally regarding Pay Board negotiations to ensure the administration presents a unified front. The conversation highlights concerns over impending Pay Board decisions concerning deferred wage increases and the potential for labor-management friction. Nixon emphasizes that the administration must anticipate union resistance while securing the support of business leadership to validate any forthcoming economic policy decisions.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 3:07 pm to 3:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-077 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-077

Date: November 2, 1971
Time: 3:07 pm - 3:11 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with George P. Shultz.

[See Conversation No. 613-2]

     National economy
          -John B. Connally
                -Possible messages from President
                     -Shultz's preparation
                -George Meany
          -Pay Board
                -Possible action
                     -Charles W. Colson's contact with Frank Fitzsimmons
                           -Meany
                           -Deferred wage increases
                     -Benjamin F. Biaggini's views
                     -Colson's views
                     -Deferred wage increases

                           -Contracts
                       -Administration position

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Schultz.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
One thing that is very important is to keep Connolly totally informed of what's happening here.
It's very important that whenever we do something here that he be aboard.
You see?
Yes.
Now, how to do that is not through one of his people here because he might get inaccurately informed of that
I would suggest that, for example, something begins to develop on the payboard thing, that you prepare a message for me to send to him, a message indicating the options that we've already outlined as to where we are.
Because he will naturally have to support whatever we do
well he's gone and we'll have the cost of living council in the event we're able to make some sort of an arrangement have to support it too but it's much better that he be informed and and then that he just say come back and run into some sort of a you know story about why the hell didn't we do better you know what i mean yeah all right the important thing here is not to not to leave anybody but particularly connolly in a position where he can say well
who could say i don't think he'd want to but he would but you know that people could his own people over there well uh why why didn't we stick it to me or why do we cave in you see what i mean yes all right all right so you will remember that i i sure will now they may move very fast in the payboard this afternoon right uh chuck has had some information from fitzsimmons that mean he will be trying to
come to a conclusion on the deferred increases and so on this afternoon.
From Biagini, I got the impression that he regarded this afternoon as essentially feeling out people so that they can see what's what, and that he wanted to pass that bias first.
But so we'll, I don't know.
Did Chuck get the idea that there was some possibility of some medium ground?
Well, yes.
Although... That's tough as hell.
That...
that there is no give in the union people on the fact that a contract has to be upheld in some manner or another.
And that's uniform, and I think we expected that.
Now, the business of whether payment is made in a lump sum or whether it's made exactly on the date when it's supposed to be made and so on or strung out, there are all sorts of ways around it.
But I do think that if the management people support the decision, whatever it is, then we're in a much better posture than if somehow it's union forcing its way through the decision.
I agree.
I agree.
All right, fine.
Okay, sir.

Also recorded on November 2, 1971

  • 013-075 2:26 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 2:26 pm to 2:34 pm.
  • 300-007 2:26 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:26 pm to 2:34 pm.
  • 013-076 3:00 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:07 pm.
  • 613-001 3:00 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:07 pm.
  • 613-002 3:07 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:07 pm to 3:11 pm.
  • 013-078 3:11 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:11 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 613-003 3:15 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:15 pm to 3:37 pm.
  • 081-004 3:37 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Cabinet Committee on Executive Reorganization, including Rogers C. B. Morton, Maurice H. Stans, James D. Hodgson, Elliot L. Richardson, George W. Romney, George P. Shultz, J. Philip Campbell, David Maxwell, Frank C. Carlucci, III, Egil G. ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., William L. Gifford, Neal Ball, Geoffrey C. Shepard, Dwight A. Ink, and John D. Ehrlichman., met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 3:37 pm to 4:35 pm.

All 58 conversations from November 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-077, November 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417190369). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-077 (accessed November 4, 2026).