Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 596 › Conversation 596-022

Nixon White House recording on Economic Policy and Labor Unions

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 1:45 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office · 58 sec

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation596-022 on Tape 596 (tape position 03:25:33–03:26:28)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 1:45 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 596-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consults with an associate, likely John Ehrlichman, regarding the management of labor relations and economic policy during the wage and price control era. The discussion focuses on securing commitments from labor leaders to curb inflation and maintain stability, despite the challenges of ongoing negotiations. The participants also deliberate on potential administrative appointments, specifically discussing the suitability of Robert Ellsworth for a role within the administration.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 03:25:33 – 03:26:28

part B, 1:23:15

596a.mp3
596b.mp3

NARA Description

On October 19, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 596-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 596-22

Date: October 19, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:45 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people met.

     [Unintelligible]

The unknown people left at an unknown time before 11:59 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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

But on the other hand, John, there isn't, I mean, John, there isn't any question, in my view, the thing you've got to accept is that, look, we've got meaning, and we've got the top five labor governments of the United States on the line, assuming responsibility for mitigating some of these races, or, you know, or now.
Now that's going to make a difference.
So maybe it isn't going to be a 3%, of course it isn't.
Maybe it isn't going to be a 5%, of course it isn't.
But it isn't going to be 20.
Now that's going to tell the difference, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right?
Can we cut some?
Yeah.
We're very good at that.
Oh, I agree.
Well, we haven't got all planned yet.
They all accepted.
I know it's...
I threw another name at the bay.
I don't know what it is, but he really probably wouldn't like it.

Also recorded on October 19, 1971

  • 011-135 1:39 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld talked on the telephone from 1:39 pm to 1:44 pm.
  • 011-136 1:44 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:44 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 011-137 1:44 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:44 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 292-001 1:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 292-002 1:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 292-003 1:45 PM · 54 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 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 292-004 1:45 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 292-005 1:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.

All 95 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 596-022, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/596-022 (accessed November 12, 2026).