The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), established in 1919, is the federation of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s for performing artists in the United States. Gary M. Fink, ed. ''Labor unions'' (Greenwood, 1977) pp. 3-4. The union was established by the merger of the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

and the White Rats of America. By the mid-1940s, its affiliates were: * Actors' Equity Association * American Federation of Radio Artists *

American Guild of Musical Artists The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and concert dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of over 6,000 arti ...

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 show ...

* Brother Artists Association *

Chorus Equity Association The Chorus Equity Association was created on August 12, 1919, in New York City during the strike by the Actors' Equity Association. After Florenz Ziegfeld revealed that he was joining the Producing Managers' Association, the chorus girls in his Z ...

* Hebrew Chorus Union * Hungarian Actors' and Artists' Association *

Italian Actors' Union The Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA) was founded in 1937 as the Italian Actors Union (IAU) to protect the rights of Italian-American actors in Italian-language theater and was reinvented as GIAA, the Guild of Italian American Actors by then ...

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 mer ...

As of 2022, the following unions belong to the 4As: * The

(AEA) * The

(AGMA) * The

(AGVA) * The

Guild of Italian American Actors The Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA) was founded in 1937 as the Italian Actors Union (IAU) to protect the rights of Italian-American actors in Italian-language theater and was reinvented as GIAA, the Guild of Italian American Actors by then ...

(GIAA) * The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) The organization is a member of the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

. The 4As splits its votes in AFL-CIO elections based on the wishes of each member union. The current AAAA member unions of the AFL–CIO are: AEA, AGMA, GIAA, and SAG-AFTRA. The well-known performer and civil rights activist

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

was President of the 4As until his death in 2015. On June 1, 2014,

Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO The Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO (DPE) is a semi-autonomous "trade" department of the AFL–CIO, and serves as an advocate for professional workers within the federation, and before legislative bodies, the press and the public. ...

(DPE) took over administrative functions of the 4As, as per an April 15, 2014, agreement between the DPE and the 4As. As part of the agreement, AGVA and GIAA affiliated with the DPE. AGMA, already a DPE affiliate, AGVA, and GIAA remain AFL-CIO affiliates through the 4As. The other two 4As members, AEA and SAG-AFTRA, previously received direct charters from the AFL-CIO. DPE President Paul Almeida became the Executive Secretary of the 4As .

Officers

At the 4As convention on December 2, 2015, the following 4As officers were elected: * President –

Jason McMillin Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

, SAG-AFTRA; * 1st Vice President – David White, SAG-AFTRA; * 2nd Vice President – Mary McColl, AEA; * 3rd Vice President – Susanne Doris – AGVA Delegate; * 4th Vice President – Deborah Alton Maher, AGMA Delegate; * 5th Vice President – Carson Grant, GIAA; * Treasurer – Mary Lou Westerfield, AEA; * Executive Secretary – Paul E. Almeida, DPE

References

Entertainment industry unions National trade union centers of the United States AFL–CIO Trade unions established in 1919 1919 establishments in the United States {{US-trade-union-stub