The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists (both royalty artists and background singers), promo and voice-over announcers and other performers in commercials, stunt persons and specialty acts—as the organization itself publicly stated, "AFTRA's membership includes an array of talent". On March 30, 2012, the members of AFTRA and of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

(SAG) voted to merge and form

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Background

AFTRA was located at 5757 Wilshire Blvd, 7th Floor,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. There were also offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and several other American cities. The federation as a whole had 804 employees and total

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...

s worth $30,403,661. AFTRA worked in the interests of its members, primarily in the areas of

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

negotiation and enforcement,

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

(including

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

, legislation and public policy issues) and member benefits such as employer-paid health plans. AFTRA was affiliated with the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

and the International Federation of Actors. AFTRA also shared jurisdiction of radio, television, Internet and other new media with its sister union SAG, while the latter was the body solely responsible for motion picture performances.

History

Radio years

Emboldened by the

National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, an ...

passed by Congress in 1935, radio artists from Los Angeles banded together to form the Radio Actors Guild. About the same time, Broadway actor George Heller began lobbying

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

in New York for a contract protecting radio artists. This led to the creation of Radio Equity, existing under the umbrella of Actors' Equity. On August 16, 1937, the American Federation of Radio Artists was formed,Harvey, Rita Morley, ''Those Wonderful, Terrible Years: George Heller and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists''. Carbondale, Illinois:

Southern Illinois University Press Southern Illinois University Press or SIU Press, founded in 1956, is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois, owned and operated by Southern Illinois University. The press publishes approximately 50 titles annually, among its more th ...

, 1999. succeeding Radio Equity and the Radio Actors Guild. The Four As—the Associated Actors and Artistes of America—granted a charter to the new union, with 400 members in two locations. Chicago, the center for “soap opera” production, quickly followed New York and Los Angeles, with performers forming their own local chapter. By December 1937, AFRA had more than 2,000 members. On July 12, 1938, with the support of radio stars

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (né Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen ...

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, and others, AFRA members negotiated the first collectively bargained agreement on a national scale—with NBC and CBS—resulting in a wage increase of 125%. In 1939, after only two years in existence, AFRA covered 70% of live radio broadcasting through collective bargaining agreements. In 1941, AFRA members negotiated the Transcription Code, providing for programs recorded for later broadcast, and building cost-of-living increases into contracts.

Television years

On 16 April 1950, due to a jurisdiction dispute over television performers, several unions in the entertainment industry including Chorus Equity, the

American Guild of Variety Artists The American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) is an American entertainment union representing performers in variety entertainment, including circuses, Las Vegas showrooms and cabarets, comedy showcases, dance revues, magic shows, theme park ...

, the Associated Actors and Artistes of America, the American Guild of Musical Artists, and

formed the Television Authority (TVA), which negotiated the first network television contract in December. By April 23, 1951, six Los Angeles TV stations signed contracts certifying ''Television Authority'' as their performers' sole union representative. In 1951, the goal of a resolution from the 1947 National Convention was finally realized as AFRA negotiated the first Phonograph Recording Code for singers with the major recording labels. On September 17, 1952, the Television Authority and AFRA merged to create a new union: the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. George Heller was the first head of AFTRA, which had nearly 10,000 members. In 1954, AFTRA negotiated the AFTRA Pension and Welfare Plan (later became the AFTRA Health and Retirement Funds) which stood as the industry's first benefit package and was negotiated into other agreements. In 1956, early television agreements had been based on live performances, but by the mid-1950s, videotape improved to the point where programs could be broadcast repeatedly. AFTRA members negotiated the first-ever formula for payments for replay of performances, which became the basis for residuals and syndication throughout the television industry. In 1960, AFTRA and Screen Actors Guild members conducted first joint negotiations on television commercials. In 1967, AFTRA members called the union’s first national strike on March 29, 1967, after negotiations broke down over staff announcer contracts at owned-and-operated stations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles and over first-time contracts for “Newsmen” at networks and owned-and-operated stations. Since AFTRA adhered to a bargaining principle that no general agreement exists until all Codes and Contracts are acceptable, the 13-day strike involved all 18,000 members in more than 100 locations across the country. Agreement was reached on the outstanding issues at 8:05 p.m., EST, on Monday, April 10, 1967—just in time to allow broadcast of the annual Academy Awards program live from the Santa Monica Auditorium. In 1974, a challenge by William F. Buckley to AFTRA's union shop agreements for news broadcasters failed as the US Supreme Court declined to review the case. AFTRA and SAG members jointly negotiated the contract covering primetime dramatic programming on the major television networks for the first time. In 1978, in only the second national strike in AFTRA’s history, AFTRA and SAG members struck the advertising agencies and national advertisers over the jointly negotiated Commercials Contracts.

Cable, home video, digital years

In 1980, AFTRA and SAG members held a strike against prime time television, wanting a formula for performer participation in profits from sale of videocassettes and

pay TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

. In 1981, a merger of AFTRA and SAG jointly entered their "Phase 1 Agreement," calling for a number of jointly negotiated, ratified, and administered contracts. AFTRA became the target of a lawsuit by Tuesday Productions, a

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

–based non-union jingle house, which brought anti-trust charges against the union for attempting to organize performers. A jury award for triple damages of $12 million to the company drove AFTRA into

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy in 1982. After a financial settlement by AFTRA and SAG (which is also party to the suit), AFTRA emerged from Chapter 11 in 1983 and began to rebuild. AFTRA paid no money to Tuesday Production due to declaring bankruptcy. In 1986, a strike against network television was averted when companies backed off the demand for AFTRA news broadcasters to assume sweeping technical duties. In 1992, as part of a coalition of recording artists, singers, musicians, and others, AFTRA members worked with Congress to enact the

Audio Home Recording Act The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA) amended the United States copyright law by adding Chapter 10, "Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media". The act enabled the release of recordable digital formats such as Sony's Digital Audio Tape witho ...

of 1992, the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the

Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...

of 1998. All three laws granted a performance right in sound recordings for a wide range of digital uses, including home recording and distribution by internet, cable, and satellite. AFTRA helped develop mechanisms to assure payments to recording artists from the collection and distribution of royalties established by the laws. In 1993, AFTRA members negotiated the first Interactive Media Agreement to cover performances in

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act, opening the door for massive ownership concentration in the broadcast sector. In 2000, AFTRA and SAG members staged a six-month strike against advertisers to gain improvements in basic cable and internet commercials, preserving established residual formulas for new media outlets. In 2003, in a referendum on the merger of AFTRA and SAG, AFTRA members supported consolidation by more than 75%, while SAG members rejected the merger with 58% voting for it. At least 60% was required to pass, leaving a deficiency of 640 votes. In 2005, with the digital distribution of programming by Apple iTunes and the video iPod announced in October, AFTRA joined other entertainment unions in calling for ongoing dialogue with employers to ensure fair and proper compensation for performers’ work. In 2006, AFTRA led the campaign against relaxation of media ownership rules by the Federal Communications Commission. Through 2007, AFTRA elected leaders, members, and staff testified at numerous hearings held throughout the country and sent letters to the FCC opposing consolidation of media ownership. AFTRA and SAG members agreed with the advertising industry to examine performer compensation models for commercials appearing on television, radio, and internet, as well as the growing array of existing and yet-to-be-developed media. The study was intended to help inform negotiations of the Commercials Contracts when the two-year extension agreement expired October 28, 2008.Scott Collins
"A SAG strike won't cripple TV"
''Los Angeles Times'', December 1, 2008