| Full name | Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Date dissolved | 1993 |
| Merged into | Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance |
| Members | 13,700 (1991)[1] |
| Country | Australia |
| Affiliation | ACTU, ALP |
The Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association was an Australian trade union which existed between 1910 and 1993.[2] It represented a wide range of workers employed in the entertainment industry in Australia.
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The ATAEA represented employees in a diverse range of non-performing occupations in the entertainment industry. These included film projectionists, ushers, ticket sellers, film crew, stagehands, racecourse, sports ground and amusement park staff[1].
While a state-based union may have existed in Victoria during the late 19th century, the union first achieved federal registration in 1910 as the Australian Federated Stage Employees' Association[2]. The union underwent several name changes before finally settling on its final title in 1915[2]. The ATAEA originally only represented stagehands, but over time, and with technological change, it widened its membership base to cover much of the entertainment industry in Australia[1].
Due to the difficulties of servicing a widely-spread membership, and following ACTU policy of the time, the ATAEA began seeking and amalgamation of unions representing the entertainment and media industry in Australia during the early 1990's[1]. This decision, however, along with political and generational differences, caused division between the national office of the union and the Queensland branch[1]. This animosity developed until the Queensland branch split away from the federal union in 1991, and later merged with the Australian Workers' Union in Queensland[1]. The rest of the union merged with the Australian Journalists' Association and Actors' Equity in 1993 to form the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA)[2]. The ATAEA continues to exist as a distinct section within the MEAA, and currently has 3045 members[3].