Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-175

Nixon phone call with Usery on Labor relations and Postal Service

Wednesday, July 21, 1971 · 2:55 PM–2:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Usery, Willie J., Jr.Conversation006-175 on Tape 6 (tape position 04:10:44–04:11:56)StartWednesday, July 21, 1971 at 2:55 PMEndWednesday, July 21, 1971 at 2:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-175 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Willie J. Usery, Jr. to commend his successful mediation efforts in recent postal and railroad labor negotiations. The discussion shifts toward the upcoming steel labor disputes, with Nixon emphasizing the necessity of avoiding a strike while urging a non-inflationary settlement. Usery expresses optimism regarding the steel negotiations and affirms that the President's previous meetings with labor leaders have positively influenced the process.

Labor relations
Postal Service
Railroad industry
Steel industry strike
Mediation
Wage negotiations

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I have Mr. Usry for you, sir.

There you are.

Hello, Mr. President.

Bill, while we're thanking you again for both the postal and the railroad thing, George Schultz is filling me in.

I just want you to know that all those labors in the vineyard are sure appreciated.

Well, thank you very much.

Very kind of you to...

I tell you, you're always in there pitching and...

And I'll tell you, you got the patience of Job.

Well, this was a big one if we could.

First contract with the Postal Service and just great force.

Now, you keep yourself in shape for steel, will you?

I'll try to.

We just can't have a strike there, you know.

We just cannot do it.

It's looking better all the time, though.

Do you have inside?

There's less and less to talk about strikes.

You keep the voice.

And on the other hand, we want a settlement that just doesn't know all money.

The union this time will render a great public service by just, you know, talking about keeping competitive.

That's what the country wants to hear.

Yes, sir.

And I think they know it, don't you?

I think they do, and I say, Mr. President, the meeting you had with them was great.

I came away so much impressed myself that we must work at what you said.

Great.

Fine, Bill.

Thank you a lot.

Thank you for having me.

NARA Description

On July 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Willie J. Usery, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:55 pm to 2:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-175 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-175

Date: July 21, 1971
Time: 2:55 pm - 2:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Willie J. Usery, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 541-2A]

     Settlement of labor disputes
           -Postal service
           -Railroads
           -President's conversation with George P. Shultz

Also recorded on July 21, 1971

006-173 2:43 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Haakon I. Romnes talked on the telephone from 2:43 pm to 2:47 pm.
264-012 2:43 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Haakon I. Romnes met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:43 pm to 2:47 pm.
006-174 2:47 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 2:53 pm.
264-013 2:47 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 2:51 pm.
264-014 2:47 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 2:51 pm.
541-002 2:52 PM · 2 hr 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Willie J. Usery, Jr., Stephen B. Bull, Stephen B. Bull, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Charles W. Colson, George H. Mahon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 5:04 pm.
541-001 2:53 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Miss Lund (secretary to J. Curtis Counts) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:53 pm to 2:54 pm.
006-176 2:56 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:56 pm and 4:40 pm.

All 37 conversations from July 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-175, July 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-175 (accessed October 11, 2026).