White Rats of America

The White Rats was a fraternal organization formed by vaudeville performers, led by George Fuller Golden, as a labor union to support the rights of male performers.[1] Women and African-American performers were not allowed to join. The White Rats attempted to combat the monopolistic practices of the United Booking Office (UBO) and the Vaudeville Managers Association (VMA), groups formed by vaudeville theater managers to keep performers' wages low and control when and where performers were allowed to work. It was based on the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British entertainment industry fraternity and charity.[2] It received a charter from the American Federation of Labor in 1910.[3] The union staged several strikes but ultimately disbanded.

The White Rats
Founded1900
HeadquartersNew York City
Location
  • United States
AffiliationsAmerican Federation of Labor

Membership

Golden wrote a book about the White Rats, My Lady Vaudeville and her White Rats, which was published in 1909 by the Broadway Publishing Company.[4] This book lists the following members:

Directors:

Only white male performers were allowed to join.

Meeting places

The White Rats met on Twenty-third street in New York City, in a space above Koster & Bial's Music Hall between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. 565

Strike of 1901

Soon after the White Rats union was formed in 1900, its leadership committee attempted to negotiate with the VMA, led by E.F. Albee and B.F. Keith, to reduce or remove a 5% kickback each act was forced to pay in exchange for being booked on the lucrative VMA circuit. After negotiations failed, the White Rats called a strike in February 1901.

The Western States branch of the VMA gave in to the union's demands, and the Eastern branch went without vaudeville for two weeks. Keith and Albee called a meeting with the performers in which they claimed they themselves had been against the 5% commission, and would ask the other members of the VMA to remove it. Albee and Keith also agreed to go on the record in the press as being against the 5% commission if the strike was called off, and they did so.[5] As a result, the strike was called off, and performers began to sign contracts with the VMA again in order to secure valuable long-term performing contracts.[2]

Strike of 1916

The White Rats staged a strike in 1916 to protest poor treatment by vaudeville bookers. In retaliation, Vaudeville managers, led by Albee, created a blacklist that prevented any known members of the White Rats from working in any of the 10,000 to 15,000 theaters under his control. Performers often couldn't afford to be out of work, or to work at a reduced rate because of suspected union membership, and the strike collapsed within a year. The White Rats disbanded not long thereafter.[3]

See also

References
  1. "ACTORS GO ON A STRIKE(2) - Members of the "White Rats" Organization Refuse to Play. Every Syndicate Vaudeville House in the Country Said to Be Affected - Object to Paying Comm..." (PDF). timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  2. Trav S.D. No Applause - Just Throw Money: The Book that Made Vaudeville Famous (New York: Faber and Faber, Inc., 2005)
  3. Smith, Bill. The Vaudevillians. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976)
  4. Golden, George Fuller (February 25, 1909). "My Lady Vaudeville and Her White Rats". Pub. under the auspices of the Board of Directors of the White Rats of America. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Google Books.
  5. Samuels, Charles & Louise. Once Upon A Stage: The Merry World of Vaudeville. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1974)

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