The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As) is the federation of trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s for performing artists in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The following unions belong to the 4As:

• The Actors' Equity Association
  Actors' Equity Association
  The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
  
   (AEA)
• The American Guild of Musical Artists
  American Guild of Musical Artists
  The American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO is the American labor union that represents 8,000 current and retired opera singers, ballet and other dancers, opera Directors, backstage production personnel at opera and dance companies, and figure skaters.-Jurisdiction:According to its website it...
  
   (AGMA)
• The American Guild of Variety Artists
  American Guild of Variety Artists
  American Guild of Variety Artists 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 shows, and arena and auditorium extravaganzas. It awards the "Georgie...
  
   (AGVA)
• The Hebrew Actors' Union
  Hebrew Actors' Union
  The Hebrew Actors' Union , formed in 1899 as a craft union for actors in Yiddish theater in the United States , was the first actors' union in the United States. Until it was decertified by the umbrella organization of theatrical unions in October 2005, it remained as one of the seven branches of...
  
   (HAU) [defunct]
• The Screen Actors Guild
  Screen Actors Guild
  The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
  
   (SAG)
• The Guild of Italian American Actors
  Guild of Italian American Actors
  The Guild of Italian American Actors was founded in 1937 as the Italian Actors Union to protect the rights of Italian American actors. The guild has jurisdiction over Italian language professional theater, and works to preserve and promote awareness of Italian culture and heritage...
  
   (GIAA)

The organization holds a unique role because the 4As is a member of the AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...

 and a few of the individual unions are not. This distinction is purely technical as 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, and SAG. The well-known performer and civil rights activist, Theodore Bikel

Theodore Bikel

Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....

, is President of the 4As.