Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 42 › Conversation 042-057

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Steel industry and Labor statistics

Friday, April 16, 1971 · 7:04 PM–7:05 PM ET · White House Telephone · 38 sec

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation042-057 on Tape 42 (tape position 01:06:48–01:07:27)StartFriday, April 16, 1971 at 7:04 PMEndFriday, April 16, 1971 at 7:05 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 042-057 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman briefed President Nixon on employment statistics within the steel industry to support a specific administration narrative. They confirmed that while the total number of steelworkers union members had increased, the actual number of employees working in the steel industry had declined by approximately 5% since 1960. Nixon intended to use these figures to emphasize the contraction of the industry's workforce during public discourse.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yep.
Mr. Haldeman calling you, sir.
Yeah.
There you are.
You okay?
Yeah.
On the steelworkers, I can give you that all employees in the steel industry in 1960 were 651,000.
Yeah.
In 1971, 609,000.
Yeah.
That's all I need.
Down about 5%.
Now, that's probably the best figure to use.
There's a whole lot of others on members of the union.
I just want to get the idea that there's less in the industry today than there was before.
There are less steelworkers now.
There are more members of the steelworkers union, but there are less steelworkers in the industry.
That's right.
I got it.
That's all I needed to know.
Okay.

NARA Description

On April 16, 1971, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:04 pm and 7:05 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 042-057 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 42-57

Date: April 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:04 pm and 7:05 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.

     Steelworkers
          -Statistics

Also recorded on April 17, 1971

  • 250-031 7:04 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:04 pm to 7:05 pm.
  • 250-032 7:05 PM · 14 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 7:05 pm and 8:00 pm.
  • 250-033 7:05 PM · 2 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 7:05 pm and 8:00 pm.
  • 250-034 7:05 PM · 25 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 7:05 pm and 8:00 pm.
  • 001-106 10:26 PM · 31 sec — the White House operator, Manolo Sanchez, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 10:26 pm.
  • 001-107 10:45 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:45 pm.
  • 001-108 10:45 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 10:45 pm to 10:56 pm.
  • 001-109 10:56 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:56 pm and 11:01 pm.

All 49 conversations from April 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 042-057, April 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/042-057 (accessed October 3, 2026).