Count Us In: Netflix Production Accountants Win Union Recognition

Netflix Production Accountants working in New York and New Jersey have reached an agreement with Netflix to be recognized as members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 161. This bargaining unit of Production Accountants who work in motion picture includes Clerks, who have never been organized with Local 161 before.

The majority of Production Accountants on the East Coast were already members of IATSE Local 161, but have been working in New York and New Jersey without a union contract with Netflix since 2021, two years after the streamer joined the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Now that Netflix has agreed to formally recognize them, they will move forward towards bargaining a fair contract.

Local 161 has represented East Coast Production Accountants since 1974, but most Hollywood studios have refused to recognize Local 161, as well as Local 871 and other IATSE locals representing motion picture Production Accountants across the country.

“The ‘Count Us In’ campaign is proof that we, as Accountants, deserve representation and a fair contract, just like our union kin in other crafts,” said Local 161 President Laura Fearon, a Payroll Accountant and Local 161 member since 2008. “We have always been IATSE, and like all IATSE members, we are an essential part of the crew, making sure that everybody in the cast and crew gets paid. We hope that other AMPTP studios will follow Netflix’s lead and meet us at the bargaining table.” Read more here.