April 30th, 2026

Freelancers in NYC might finally be getting something real! And if they want it, so does Los Angeles!!

NYC's Councilman Chi Ossé and the Freelancers Union just introduced a proposal for a city-run payment fund that could get freelancers paid a lot sooner, and more consistently. Filmmakers, if the sound of this doesn’t make you lean forward? We’re not really sure what will. Freelancers are ALREADY forced into acting as “interest-free lenders” to the people hiring them. It’s a power dynamic that’s inescapable unless a REAL, payment-enforcement entity gets introduced.

If you’re a freelance filmmaker in Los Angeles, California, you already know how demoralizing invoice-chasing can get. NET30 sounded reasonable on paper, but it was mainly created for companies that have enough capital to not get squeezed by other financial obligations. For a lot of freelance filmmakers, it often turns into NET60, NET90, or even NET-NEVER. NYC has started flipping the dynamic, and we should be doing the same. Freelancers could get paid more reliably, and the city could handle the collection. No more awkward follow-ups, or risking future work from chasing money you’ve already earned.

Los Angeles still has the BIGGEST union and non-union freelance film community in the world! We should’ve never normalized NET30 in the first place, but we can’t undo what’s already been done. We can only look forward and work on creating better payment enforcement among clients, sponsors, agencies, and production companies.

To Councilman Adrin Nazarian; we’re grateful for the efforts you’ve made with your #KeepHollywoodHome campaign. We’ve started a public petition for #NoMoreNET30, in hopes that you can also introduce a new LA bill similar to what Councilman Ossé and the Freelancers Union have introduced for NYC. This is the kind of long overdue support that filmmaking freelancers have been waiting decades for.

In 2026, there’s already too much automated payment processing for NET30 to STILL be the default. Our bill collectors have never cared about the numerous lack-of-payment excuses provided by our employers. So tell us how many names you’d like to see on this petition, and we’ll grab as many as we can!