Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 469 › Conversation 469-008

Nixon & Haldeman on Construction Wage Council and George Romney

Thursday, March 18, 1971 · 5:04 PM–5:25 PM ET · Oval Office · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation469-008 on Tape 469 (tape position 00:28:04–00:31:14)StartThursday, March 18, 1971 at 5:04 PMEndThursday, March 18, 1971 at 5:25 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 469-008 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417176231 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman reviewed internal confusion regarding the attendance and frequency of meetings involving the Construction Wage Council. Haldeman provided updates from his discussions with George P. Shultz and John D. Ehrlichman, specifically addressing conflicting accounts from George Romney, Arthur Burns, and Paul McCracken. The exchange focused on resolving discrepancies in participant lists to clarify administrative oversight of the committee's wage negotiations.

Audio

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NARA Description

On March 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:04 pm and 5:25 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 469-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 469-8

Date: March 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:04 pm and 5:25 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

     Haldeman’s call to George P. Shultz
          -Meeting concerning Construction Wage Council
               -George W. Romney
               -John A. Volpe
               -Winton M. (“Red”) Blount
               -Arthur F. Burns

     Haldeman’s talk with John D. Ehrlichman
          -Romney
          -Burns
          -Edwin L. Harper [?]
          -Paul W. McCracken
          -Number of meetings
          -McCracken, Burns

Haldeman left at an unknown time before 5:25 pm

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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He said that there's only been one meeting that he's been in with such a group, and that was with Romney, Boeke, and Blunt.

And he said Arthur Burns was not there, and this had to do with the construction wage problem.

I checked back with Earl, and he says that Romney was very specific in the names that he listed, and Burns was on his list, as was Hartman and McCracken, and several of you.

John is of the opinion that there were several kings, and that McCracken was at one of them.

Or Arthur was, but that Arthur was one of them, or some.

McCracken was.

Also recorded on March 18, 1971

469-001 4:42 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:42 pm to 4:46 pm.
469-002 4:46 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 5:00 pm.
469-003 4:46 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 5:00 pm.
469-004 4:46 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 5:00 pm.
469-005 5:00 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:00 pm and 5:03 pm.
469-006 5:03 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald H. Walker, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 5:25 pm.
469-007 5:04 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:04 pm and 5:25 pm.
469-009 5:25 PM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:25 pm to 6:22 pm.

All 13 conversations from March 18, 1971 →

Nixon, Connally & Haldeman on U.S. monetary policy July 22, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Phase II and Business community November 11, 1971 · 24 min
Nixon, Friedman & Haldeman on Economic Policy and 1972 Election June 8, 1971 · 48 min
Nixon, Connally & Peterson on Economic Policy and Gold Standard July 27, 1971 · 55 min
Nixon, Burns & Connally on Economic Policy and Federal Budget January 18, 1972 · 60 min
Nixon, Ehrlichman & Shultz on Economic Policy and Federal Reserve February 14, 1972 · 48 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 469-008, March 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417176231). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/469-008 (accessed October 31, 2026).