The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, 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".[2] On March 30, 2012, it was announced that the members of AFTRA and of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had voted to merge and form SAG-AFTRA.[3][4]
AFTRA was located at 5757 Wilshire Blvd, 7th Floor, Los Angeles, California. There were also offices in New York City, Chicago, and several other American cities. The federation as a whole had 804 employees and total assets worth $30,403,661.[5] AFTRA worked in the interests of its members, primarily in the areas of contract negotiation and enforcement, advocacy (including lobbying, legislation and public policy issues) and member benefits such as employer-paid health plans.[2] AFTRA was affiliated with the AFL–CIO, the International Federation of Journalists 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.[6]
Emboldened by the National Labor Relations Act 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 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,[8]: 21 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, Edgar Bergen, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, 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.