Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 39 › Conversation 039-102

Nixon, Meany & Laird on Domestic Policy and Cost of Living Council

Wednesday, June 6, 1973 · 11:11 AM–11:35 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Meany, George; Laird, Melvin R.Conversation039-102 on Tape 39StartWednesday, June 6, 1973 at 11:11 AMEndWednesday, June 6, 1973 at 11:35 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 039-102 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Melvin R. Laird called AFL-CIO President George Meany to personally inform him of Laird's appointment as Counselor to the President for Domestic Affairs. During the conversation, Laird clarified that his new role would include overseeing the Cost of Living Council and wage-price policy. The participants agreed to meet once Meany recovered from a recent bout of tendinitis to discuss these economic issues in greater detail.

Audio

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NARA Description

On June 6, 1973, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, George Meany, and Melvin R. Laird talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 11:35 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-102 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 39-102

Date: June 6, 1973
Time: Unknown between 11:11 am and 11:35 am
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked to the President.

       Incoming telephone call

The President talked with George Meany.

[See also Conversation No. 933-8B]

       Forthcoming announcement
              -Melvin R. Laird

       Golf
                                               -79-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                              Conversation No. 39-100 (cont’d)

               -Meany’s health

Laird talked with Meany

       Laird
               -Role on White House staff
                      -Domestic affairs counselor
                      -Announcement
               -Possible meeting with Meany
                      -Meany’s health
                             -Meany’s daughter
               -Role on White House staff
                      -Domestic affairs counselor
                             -Cost of Living Council [COLC]
               -Possible meeting with Meany
-                     -Wages and prices
                      -Forthcoming telephone call

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello?

Uh, hello, George?

No, no, this is, uh, the President.

Well, I got Mel here, and we have a very good announcement.

I think you're gonna like it.

And, uh, I'll put him on.

How's your golf?

Oh, yeah.

When you get better, we'll get you and Mel, and I'll take a crack at it, okay?

Yep.

Here he is.

George?

Yep.

How are you?

All right, Mel.

See, I'm coming back to government, and I'm going to be counselor to the president for domestic affairs.

I wanted to talk to you and let you know before this announcement is made.

I just felt, you know, better having you know before you picked up and read it someplace.

Yeah.

I'd like to come on over and visit with you.

Okay.

Well, I've been laid up for the last four or five days.

I've been home.

I got to...

I was fooling around in the garden.

I done some lifting and I hurt my tendons in my forearm.

It's been miserable with pain for the last five or six days.

Gee, I'm sorry to hear that, George.

And I'm doctoring it.

I guess, as you say, you've got to wait what comes around.

It's one of those, I never knew what this was before.

I mean, it's something brand new to me.

Tendinitis is what they call it.

In other words, the tendons are twisted and sort of inflamed.

You shouldn't be doing that.

No, that's true.

You ought to get your daughter out there.

Doing?

in the backyard building with cement blocks.

Listen, Mel, this is—what is this job now?

You're

Counselor for domestic affairs.

Domestic affairs.

Yeah.

That includes the cost of living.

Right.

All kind of across the board.

And that's what I want to talk to you about.

Well, we certainly got something to talk about.

And I'd like to talk to you about this wage pricing, which is going to be whenever you feel up to it.

OK, fine.

I'll call you.

You call me.

I'll wait.

OK. All right, George.

Fine.

Good to talk to you.

Bye.

Also recorded on June 6, 1973

933-006 10:35 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 11:05 am.
933-007 10:35 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 11:05 am.
933-008 11:05 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Melvin R. Laird, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., unknown person(s), Gerald L. Warren, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, and George Meany met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:05 am to 11:35 am.
039-101 11:11 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 11:35 am.
933-013 11:35 AM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:35 am and 11:37 am.
933-009 11:37 AM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Melvin R. Laird, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:37 am and 11:40 am.
933-010 11:41 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:41 am and 11:44 am.
933-011 11:44 AM · 1 hr 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles A. Wright, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, Melvin R. Laird, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:44 am to 12:53 pm.

All 85 conversations from June 6, 1973 →

Nixon phone call with Shultz on Phase II and Wage and price controls September 16, 1971 · 3 min
Nixon phone call with Shultz on Economic Stabilization Act April 18, 1973 · 10 min
Nixon phone call with Connally on Inflation and Price freeze June 7, 1973 · 8 min
Nixon, Cost of Living Council & Shultz on Wage and price controls September 29, 1972 · 57 min
Nixon, Haldeman & Connally on Economic Policy and Wage and Price Controls September 10, 1971 · 48 min
Nixon & Connally on Phase II and Wage and price controls September 10, 1971 · 5 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 039-102, June 6, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-102 (accessed November 2, 2026).