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OCR Page 1 of 70EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
December 30, 1970
MEMORANDUM FOR JOHN R. BROWN III
Re: Administration's Stance Towards Organized Labor
I believe that we should have an issue-by-issue stance towards
organized labor, not hesitant to oppose or to take on their
opposition and at the same time ready to work with them on
issues where we agree. This is possible if it is against a
background of generally friendly personal relationships such
as those the President has developed with virtually all the
top leadership of organized labor and of acceptance of unions
as worthwhile institutions in society.
The basic assumption in the Walker paper that organized labor
always opposes us on all important issues is not true. No
public leader of note stood more firmly with the President in
the critical days of Cambodia than George Meany. Furthermore,
Meany carried virtually all of the American labor movement
with him. Organized labor also supported the ABM decision,
the family assistance plan, and was most helpful on postal
reform, unemployment insurance and job safety.
The Treasury found themselves opposed by organized labor on
tax reform. This need not have happened, since the objectives
of the Administration and of organized labor were fairly close
on this issue. George Meany and Andy Biemiller both talked to
me about it and I pleaded with Secretary Kennedy to work with
them, or at least listen to their views. Nothing was ever
done that I know of to take the labor people up on this invi-
tation.
From the standpoint of the economy, certainly wages in the
construction industry and in trucking are a major problem.
Leaving those areas to the side, I do not think the rest of
the wage picture is all that bad. In fact, it seems to me that
the idea of solving inflation by somehow talking or coercing
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