Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 54 › Conversation 054-001
Nixon, AFL-CIO. Building and Construction Trades Department & Bonadio
Monday, April 19, 1971 · 5:05 PM–6:03 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 57 min
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
part A, 1:40
054a.mp3
054b.mp3
NARA Description
On April 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the executive council of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades, including Charles D. Aquandro, Frank A. Bonadio, Harold J. Buoy, Edward F. Carlough, Peter Fosco, Robert A. Georgine, Maurice A. Hutcheson, Albert E. Hutchinson, John H. ("Jack") Lyons, Thomas F. Murphy, William Peitler, Charles H. Pillard, Joseph T. Power, S. Frank Raftery, Joseph P. Ricciarelli, Peter T. Shoeman, Louis Sherman, Hunter P. Wharton, Richard W. Williams, James D. Hodgson, Willie J. Usery, Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, Charles W. Colson, the White House photographers, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:03 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 054-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 54-1
Date: April 19, 1971
Time: 5:05 pm - 6:03 pm
Location: Cabinet Room
The President met with Charles D. Aquadro, Frank A. Bonadio, Harold J. Bouy, Edward F.
Carlough, Peter Fosco, Robert A.Georgine, Maurice A. Hutcheson, Albert E. Hutchinson, John
H. (“Jack”) Lyons, Thomas F. Murphy, William Peitler, Charles H. Pillard, Joseph T. Power, S.
Frank Raftery, Joseph P. Ricciarelli, Peter T. Shoeman, Louis Sherman, Hunter P. Wharton,
Richard W. Williams, James D. Hodgson, Willie J. Usery, Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, and Charles
W. Colson; the White House photographer and members of the press were present at the
beginning of the meeting
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
Greetings
Conferences
-Murphy
-Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR]
-Location
Photo session
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
Rose Garden
Economy
-Effect on building and trades
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Direction
-Economists
-Construction
-Gross National Product [GNP]
-Growth
-March
-March
-Retail sales
-Easter sales
-Housing starts
-April
-Automobile salesShow the rest of the log (168 more lines)
-Housing starts
-GNP
-March
-Consumer confidence
-Industrial production
-Inventories
-Retail sales
-Construction
-Plant and equipment projections
-Hodgson
-President’s speech at Governors’ Conference, Williamsburg
-Spending
-Projections
-Construction trade
-1971 compared with 1970
-Jobs and payrolls
-National defense
-Hodgson
-Building trades industry
-Prospects
-Need for leadership
-Building trades’ unions
-President’s support
-Unemployment
-Need for cooperation
-Budget and monetary policy
-Interest rates
-Housing
-Construction industry
-Need for stability
-Department of Commerce projections
-Housing starts
-Interest rates
-Unemployment
-Government programs
-Historical importance
-Building projections
-Needs
-Lyons, Aquadro, Raftery
-Buildings and construction trades council
-Role
-President’s support
-Davis-Bacon Act suspension
-Consequences for unions
-Bids for jobs
-Jobs
-Suspension
-Commitment
-Rebidding
-Legal problem
-President’s order
-List of jobs from agencies
-Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD]
-Hodgson
-John A. Volpe
-Suspension
-List of jobs
-Importance
-Cities
-New York
-California
-Chicago
-San Francisco
-Los Angeles
-States
-Jobs
-HUD, Army Corps of Engineers, General Services Administration [GSA],
Department of Transportation [DOT]
-Melvin R. Laird
-Volpe
-George W. Romney
-Construction industry
-Cost factor
-Cost of land
-Increase
-Bradley Hills development
-Property values
-Land
-Control of profits
-High rise buildings
-Florida and California
-Approach
-Cost of land
-Land use bill
-Personal property taxes
-Increase
-Revenue sharing
-Revenue sharing
-State and local units
-Population
-John N. Mitchell
-Land
-Federal government’s holdings
-Marine Corps
-San Francisco, New York City
-Federal lands survey
-Rogers C. B. Morton
-Cost
-Interagency committee
-Romney
-Hodgson
-Steel contract negotiations
-George Meany
-Hodgson
-President’s Executive Order
-Construction costs
-Construction industry
-President’s conversation with Meany
-Hodgson
-Executive Order, March 29, 1971
-Construction trades union organization
-Need for cooperation
-Hardhats
-Recognition
-Labor problems in England
-Meany
-Wildcat strikes
-Construction industry
-Stephen D. Bechtel
-Need for trades union
-Urban reconstruction
-New York City
-James L. Buckley and Jacob K. Javits
-Riverside Drive
-New York City
-Denver
-New York City
-Hudson River
-Palisades
-Land costs
-Executive Order, March 29, 1971
-Disparity
-Hodgson
-Wage Stabilization Committee
-Right of contract
-Wage increases
-Intent
-Differences with the administration
National defense
-Vietnam negotiations
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Soviet Union
-Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles [ICBMs]
-Nuclear submarines
-Navy
-Merchant Marine
-Soviet Union
-ICBMs
-Nuclear submarines
-Antiballistic Missiles [ABMs]
-Strategic Arms Limitations Talks [SALT]
-Vietnam
-President’s policies
-Support for President
Federal construction spending
-Roads and bridges
-Status
Rose Garden
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
The President, et al. left at 6:03 pmTranscript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation.
Also recorded on April 19, 1971
- 482-020 3:49 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:49 pm and 3:52 pm.
- 482-021 3:52 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:52 pm to 4:05 pm.
- 482-022 4:07 PM · 46 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John L. McClellan, Clark MacGregor, Kenneth E. BeLieu, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:07 pm to 4:53 pm.
- 482-023 4:54 PM · 1 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 4:54 pm.
- 482-024 4:54 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and James D. Hodgson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:54 pm to 5:05 pm.
- 482-025 6:09 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:09 pm to 6:11 pm.
- 482-026 6:12 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 6:12 pm.
- 482-027 6:12 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:12 pm to 6:32 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 054-001, April 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 647841924). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/054-001 (accessed November 1, 2026).