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Indecency Legislation.  With thousands of messages sent by members of AFTRA to senators, on May 18, 2006, the U.S. Senate approved a version of the broadcast indecency bill supported by AFTRA that does not impose fines on individual Americans for broadcast decency violations. AFTRA members sent nearly 5,000 email messages asking senators to support the bill authored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) that increases fines on television and radio broadcast stations but does not impose performer fines or license revocation. AFTRA members will continue monitoring Congress as House and Senate negotiators will have to work out differences in the two versions of the bill before any increase in fines can become law. Press release>>

(History:  On October 7, 2004,  all provisions pertaining to fines for broadcast material deemed "indecent" were stripped from the Department of Defense Authorization Bill.  This action, which would not have happened without member calls and letters, meant there were no increased FCC fines against individual performers, announcers or broadcast journalists passed last session.  At that time, AFTRA realized that the debate, was far from over and was almost certain that another bill would surface when Congress reconvened.  AFTRA continues to thank its members for standing up for Free Speech and Corporate Responsibility for Corporate Decisions.)

Department of Professional Employees Resolution.   On December 1, 2004, adopted by unanimous vote, the Executive Committee of the DPE, AFL-CIO, passed a resolution supporting legislative and regulatory efforts to ensure that the responsibility and accountability for violations of the FCC’s indecency standard remains with the licensee, and supporting efforts to prevent licensees from using personal services contracts and other devices to shift  responsibility for compliance with FCC regulations onto individual employees. Resolution>>