Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 22 › Conversation 022-002

Nixon, Haldeman & Safire on Pay Board and George Meany

Thursday, March 23, 1972 · 10:20 AM–1:31 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.Conversation022-002 on Tape 22 (tape position 00:02:08–00:03:41)StartThursday, March 23, 1972 at 10:20 AMEndThursday, March 23, 1972 at 1:31 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 022-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman coordinated with speechwriter William Safire to revise the President's upcoming television address regarding the Pay Board. The discussion centered on crafting a paragraph to criticize AFL-CIO leader George Meany for walking out of the board after it rejected a 20% wage increase for longshoremen. Safire was instructed to emphasize the inequity of such a raise compared to the 5% cap applied to the general American workforce.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Do you want that in your spoken one or in the released one?
In the spoken one?
It's in the written one.
Bill?
Yes, Bob.
The President asked if you could put a one-paragraph thing in the, whip one up for the spoken statement, the TV statement, making the point that, zinging Meany on the point that he objects to the fact that the board wouldn't approve a 20% increase for the longshoremen.
Right.
And while millions of Americans are limited to 5%, to allow 20% to one specific group is wrong.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, hit him on the point that he was, you know, that he walked out because one special interest group didn't get an exorbitant pay raise.
Okay, that means there's a little more room in the statement?
No, he says he'll cut something else out.
Goddamn.
Okay, I'll write a good paragraph on that.
Okay.

NARA Description

On March 23, 1972, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 1:31 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 22-2

Date: March 23, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:20 am and 1:31 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 325-10B]

     Request for call to William L. Safire

Haldeman conferred with the President at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 1:31 pm.

     Forthcoming Pay Board statement by the President, March 23, 1972
          -Spoken
          -Written

[End of conferral]

Haldeman talked with Safire.

[See Conversation No. 325-10C]

     The President’s Pay Board statement for television
          -Safire draft of a paragraph
                -Criticism of George Meany
                      -Wage increase to longshoremen
                            -Inequity
                      -Meany’s walkout

Also recorded on March 23, 1972

  • 325-006 9:31 AM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:31 am and 10:19 am.
  • 325-007 9:31 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:31 am and 10:19 am.
  • 325-008 9:31 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:31 am and 10:19 am.
  • 325-009 9:31 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:31 am and 10:19 am.
  • 325-010 10:19 AM · 2 hr 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, William L. Safire, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:19 am to 12:45 pm.
  • 022-003 10:20 AM · 52 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 1:31 pm.
  • 325-011 12:45 PM · 18 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 12:45 pm and 1:00 pm.
  • 325-012 12:45 PM · 55 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 12:45 pm and 1:00 pm.

All 35 conversations from March 23, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 022-002, March 23, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-002 (accessed October 3, 2026).