The Associated Actors and Artistes of America is a trade union federation for American performing artists. Popularly known as the 4As, its four historical constituent member unions were the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), the Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA), and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). As of March 2021, only the AGVA and the GIAA remain part of the federation and represent around 2,500 performing artists. ¹

Associated Actors and Artistes of America is a member of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the United States and a prolific supporter of liberal politicians and left-progressive causes. It is run administratively by the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees.

Founding and History

The Associated Actors and Artistes of America was founded in 1919 as the result of a merger between the Actors’ Equity Association, the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (a Vaudeville union formerly known as the White Rats), and various ethnic-interest actors’ organizations. Immediately, the federation was granted a membership charter from the American Federation of Labor. ²

In the 1930s as the Hollywood movie industry rapidly expanded, the rest of the 4As—aside from the founding Actors’ Equity Association—received their charters. The Screen Actors Guild was chartered in 1932,³ the American Guild of Musical Artists in 1936,⁴ the Guild of Italian American Actors and the American Federation of Radio Artists in 1937,⁵ and the American Guild of Variety Artists in 1939⁶.

The primary purpose of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America was to solve jurisdictional disputes between its constituent unions. As unions consolidated and went defunct, however, there became less of a need for an overarching organization like the 4As to settle disputes. ⁷

In 2012, when SAG and AFTRA merged to form the SAG-AFTRA union, both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity left the 4As to receive their own direct charters from the AFL-CIO. The departure of SAG-AFTRA and AEA was a major blow to the membership of the 4As. According to 2014 reporting done by Deadline, at the time, SAG-AFTRA and AEA represented 214,000 actors; AGMA, AGVA, and GIAA represented just 10,000. ⁸

In 2021, AGMA also left the 4As to receive its direct charter, leaving the federation with just its smallest constituent unions: the AGVA and the GIAA. ⁹ Together, the two remaining unions represent around 2,500 performing artists. ¹⁰

Present Activities

The Associated Actors and Artistes of America is largely defunct. It has no website, office, or paid employees. ¹¹ Its longtime president, activist and actor Theodore Bikel, passed away in 2015. Since then, the federation has been managed administratively by the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees.

Finances

The Associated Actors and Artistes of America’s 2019 publicly available filings show total revenues of $71,368 and total expenses of $79,693.

The only paid employee of the 4As is Paul Almeida, the president of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees. ¹²

Leadership

The president of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America is Gabrielle Carteris, who also serves as the current president of SAG-AFTRA. ¹³

1. Robb, David. “Theodore Bikel’s Associated Actors & Artistes of America Handing Its Reins To AFL-CIO But Staying In Business.” Deadline. Deadline, September 6, 2019. https://deadline.com/2014/04/associated-actors-artistes-of-america-afl-cio-theodore-bikel-722211/. ; “FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT.” 000-147 (LM2) 03/31/2014. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=556963&rptForm=LM2Form.
2. Stewart, Estelle M. “Actors and Artistes of America, Associated .” Essay. In Handbook of American Trade-Unions: 1926 Edition. October, 1926, 181–82. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1926. https://books.google.com/books?id=sng7tAtSf3MC&pg=PA181&lpg=PA181&dq=Associated+Actors+%26+Artists+of+America+%221919%22&source=bl&ots=HYxxyTb469&sig=ACfU3U33wqLbt55GKrGzJ2qQMZSI5tn9bQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIvfKIiYTxAhUMXc0KHRqeC1QQ6AEwCXoECAYQAw#v=onepage&q=Associated%20Actors%20%26%20Artists%20of%20America%20%221919%22&f=false.
3. SAG. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://www.sagaftra.org/about/our-history/1930s.
4. “History.” American Guild of Musical Artists, January 10, 2018. https://www.musicalartists.org/about-agma/history/.
5. GIAA: Guild of Italian American Actors”. GIAA. Retrieved June 6, 2021 ; SAG. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://www.sagaftra.org/about/our-history/1930s.
6. AGVA. Accessed June 6, 2021. https://agvausa.com/.
7. Robb, David. “Theodore Bikel’s Associated Actors & Artistes of America Handing Its Reins To AFL-CIO But Staying In Business.” Deadline. Deadline, September 6, 2019. https://deadline.com/2014/04/associated-actors-artistes-of-america-afl-cio-theodore-bikel-722211/.
8. Robb, David. “Theodore Bikel’s Associated Actors & Artistes of America Handing Its Reins To AFL-CIO But Staying In Business.” Deadline. Deadline, September 6, 2019. https://deadline.com/2014/04/associated-actors-artistes-of-america-afl-cio-theodore-bikel-722211/.
9. “AGMA Receives AFL-CIO Charter.” American Guild of Musical Artists, March 10, 2021. https://www.musicalartists.org/agma-receives-afl-cio-charter/.
10. “AGMA Receives AFL-CIO Charter.” American Guild of Musical Artists, March 10, 2021. https://www.musicalartists.org/agma-receives-afl-cio-charter/. ; “FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT.” 000-147 (LM2) 03/31/2014. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=556963&rptForm=LM2Form.
11. Robb, David. “Theodore Bikel’s Associated Actors & Artistes of America Handing Its Reins To AFL-CIO But Staying In Business.” Deadline. Deadline, September 6, 2019. https://deadline.com/2014/04/associated-actors-artistes-of-america-afl-cio-theodore-bikel-722211/.
12. “Paul Almeida.” Shanker Institute, December 1, 2016. https://www.shankerinstitute.org/Paul-Almeida.
13. “Associated Actors and Artistes of America.” Associated Actors and Artistes of America – GuideStar Profile. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-0452378.