Veteran radio and television broadcaster Gene Rayburn recently recalled his days in Baltimore when he got everyone at his station to join AFRA (no “T” then). The year was 1941. If the station fired him for union activity, he figured he could get another job for his $35 a week. After organizing his own station, Rayburn “was so proud of that initiative, that I organized every station in town. I moved on and eventually ended up at WNEW in New York where the base pay was very high by my standards: $45 a week. But we also got commercial fees: eight cents a spot. If you did 100 spots a week, you’d end up with $53!”
After WWII, Rayburn returned to WNEW, became shop steward and worked with the New York Local to improve the situation. It wasn’t easy. The station manager at the time was tough and had a temper. “It was not unusual to hear her screams, directed at Local AFRA Executive Ken Groot, echo through the office corridors. Ken sat calmly, a slight smile on his face, repeating his demands. Progress was slow. Over a period of years, we got up to $65 a week and 12-cents a spot! Our biggest problem was that the unit wanted to fold every time they heard the station manager scream.
- Rayburn & Finch 1940′s
“At WNEW we were paid every Friday, so late each Friday morning our wives would gather on the sidewalk in front of 501 Madison Avenue and wait for us to come down from the 14th floor and give them our paychecks. Most of them had spent their last nickel on the subway to get there. It sounds difficult and it was. But remember, we were young. Our youthful enthusiasm enabled us to gloss over the economic difficulties. We enjoyed each other’s companionship, we socialized and laughed a lot. But most of all, we loved our work, said Rayburn.
