American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), founded in 1952, is a union of approximately 70,000 members representing professional actors, journalists, dancers, singers, announcers, hosts, comedians, and disc jockeys from numerous media industries, including television, radio, cable, sound recordings, video productions, commercials, audio books, non-broadcast industrials, interactive games, internet productions, and other digital media.

The union traces its origins to several preceding organizations representing members of these disparate groups of performers. Following the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, radio performers in Los Angeles and New York formed the Radio Actors Guild and Radio Equity (an organization under the umbrella of Actors’ Equity), respectively. On August 16, 1937, the two organizations combined to form the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) after being granted a charter by the Associated Actors and Artistes of Americas (also known as The Four A’s). The union began with locations in Los Angeles and New York; by December of 1937, AFRA had over 2,000 members, including 70% of all radio artists, and had added third location in Chicago, the center for soap opera production. Prominent members of the union’s early governance included Eddie Cantor, who served as the first president; inaugural National Executive Secretary Emily Holt; and Broadway actor George Heller, who acted as Ms. Holt’s assistant. AFRA members and major radio performers, including Edgar Bergen, Jack Benny, and Bing Crosby successfully negotiated with NBC and CBS on the first collectively bargained agreement in the field, resulting in significant wage increases.

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