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Chris Cullari is a writer/director based out of Los Angeles. His most recent film, THE AVIARY, is available for streaming on Paramount Plus and Showtime. You can find him tweeting about monsters, pro-wrestling, and horror movies.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
“Count Us In” is IATSE Local 161’s collective bargaining campaign that seeks to get accountants covered under a standard contract.
The goal is to get the majority of production accountants who fall under IATSE Local 161’s purview to sign what are known as “authorization for representation” cards. Once signed, these cards can be presented to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as evidence that a majority of craft members are demanding union representation at the bargaining table.
Signing one of these cards is not a commitment to join IATSE Local 161, it is simply an expression of interest.
The campaign encompasses a number of roles within production accounting, including:
Production accountants filling these roles on feature films, television series, streaming content, and commercial productions are all eligible to participate.
It’s important that all of these voices be heard. Not only are production accountants highly trained specialists in various kinds of accounting software, but also they are repositories of knowledge who help to ensure that projects run smoothly.
A successful campaign would establish several important protections and benefits:
These provisions would help create a more stable and sustainable career path for production accountants while ensuring productions maintain access to skilled financial professionals who can effectively manage increasingly complex budgets and financial requirements.
The campaign has already achieved significant milestones, including successful union recognition for Netflix production accountants in New York and New Jersey, setting an important precedent for the broader industry.
The "Count Us In" campaign represents a crucial step forward in recognizing and protecting the essential role of production accountants in the entertainment industry.
As productions become more complex and financial oversight becomes increasingly critical, ensuring proper support and protection for accounting professionals is vital for the industry's continued success.
For production accountants looking to stay connected with their community and access valuable resources, Wrapbook offers two unique platforms: Room Tone, a private Slack community for production accounting professionals to share knowledge and build connections, and The List, a curated directory of jobs in production accounting.
Production accountants form the financial backbone of the entertainment industry. This highly specialized role is responsible for managing complex budgets and requires years of experience to master, yet it doesn’t enjoy the same union protections that many other essential jobs in the entertainment industry do.
Through a new collective bargaining effort called “Count Me In,” IATSE Local 161 is working to change that.
IATSE Local 161 represents script supervisors, production coordinators, travel coordinators, and assistant production coordinators, as well as secretaries and production assistants.
Established in 1944, IATSE Local 161 has historically played a vital role in establishing industry standards and ensuring fair working conditions for its members. With jurisdiction in 24 states, the union's expertise spans all kinds of productions, from major studio features to independent productions, commercials, and streaming content.
While accountants are covered in side letters to some contracts—such as Low Budget Theatrical and Pay Television agreements—accountants as a craft were not members of IATSE Local 161 when the Local 161 Major agreement was first negotiated with the AMPTP.
For over 20 years, the union has requested that employers voluntarily recognize accountants as a craft covered by IATSE Local 161. But due to the complex details of employment law, employers have a legal right to ignore these requests.
The resulting lack of standardized protection has left many production accountants both novice and veteran vulnerable to inconsistent working conditions, unclear overtime rates, and variable benefit structures across different productions.
