Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 15 › Conversation 015-021

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on AFL-CIO and George Meany

Thursday, November 18, 1971 · 8:12 AM–8:13 AM ET · White House Telephone · 40 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation015-021 on Tape 15 (tape position 00:26:29–00:27:10)StartThursday, November 18, 1971 at 8:12 AMEndThursday, November 18, 1971 at 8:13 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 015-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman coordinate the timing of a critical phone call between George Shultz and AFL-CIO leader George Meany regarding the organization's participation in the Pay Board. They discuss whether to pre-emptively announce a meeting time to curb public speculation or wait for the outcome of the AFL-CIO convention proceedings. Ultimately, the pair decides to postpone the announcement until the labor union's position becomes clearer later that afternoon.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Hello.
Mr. Haldeman, sir.
Yeah.
You are.
Hello.
Yeah, George has got to call Meany, you know, before they open the convention at 9 this morning and set a time.
It seems to me we ought to just confirm 10.30 tomorrow and announce it at 10 o'clock today so we get rid of speculation.
Well, yeah, but, I mean, regardless, you mean, of what they do about staying in or out of the pay boards?
Well...
That you're not going to know until 3 or 4.
Well, fine.
We'll just wait till we find out this afternoon.
We'll just wait till we find out.
Just let me know.

NARA Description

On November 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 8:12 am to 8:13 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 15-21

Date: November 18, 1971
Time: 8:12 am - 8:13 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

Haldeman talked with the President.

[See also Conversation No. 294-4]

     George P. Shultz
          -Call to George Meany

     The President's schedule
          -American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations [AFL-CIO]
               convention
               -Pay Board

Also recorded on November 18, 1971

  • 621-006 8:01 AM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 8:01 am.
  • 294-001 8:02 AM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:02 am and 8:07 am.
  • 294-002 8:02 AM · 4 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 8:02 am and 8:07 am.
  • 621-007 8:02 AM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:02 am and 6:00 pm.
  • 015-019 8:07 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:07 am.
  • 015-020 8:07 AM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:07 am to 8:08 am.
  • 294-003 8:07 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:07 am to 8:08 am.
  • 294-004 8:12 AM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:12 am to 8:13 am.

All 77 conversations from November 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 015-021, November 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-021 (accessed October 1, 2026).