The ratification of the new DGA film and television agreement is currently being voted on. Ballots were sent to members this evening along with the Memorandum of Agreement and a summary of the new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The tentative agreement was approved last night by the DGA National Board, which unanimously recommended that members ratify it. Voting must be completed by June 23rd.
“In this new agreement,” DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter told members, “we were able to make many significant advances, including a number of important industry firsts, including: essential protections related to AI, terms and conditions in non-dramatic SVOD programs.” ‘ as well as high-budget AVOD programming, feature director compensation for “soft prep”, expanded paid post-production for episode directors, a new subscriber-based structure for foreign streaming residuals, and a ban on live ammunition on sets. We’ve also made significant improvements in wages, streaming leftovers, safety, diversity and other creative rights wins. What is particularly striking about the agreement is the breadth and depth of achievements achieved, which offer significant new benefits to members of all categories.”
Key highlights of the agreement, she wrote, include:
- Wages and Perks: Achieved the highest overall pay increases in more than 35 years, including increases of 5% in first year of contract, 4% in year two and 3.5% in year three. In the second year of the agreement, a new parental allowance for DGA members will be financed for the first time by an additional wage increase of 0.5%.
- Global Streaming Leftovers: Achieved significant increases in residuals for dramatic programs created for SVOD by ensuring a new residual structure for paying foreign residuals based on the number of foreign subscribers. The result is a 76 percent increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms, such that residuals for an hour-long episode over the first three years of exhibition will now be approximately $90,000.
- Generative Artificial Intelligence: Secured agreement that customary and contractual duties assigned to employees represented by DGA must continue to be assigned to employees covered by the agreement represented by DGA and that GAI is not a person.
- Non-dramatic programs: For the first time, we have established terms and conditions for directors and their teams for non-dramatic programs (e.g. Variety and Reality) for SVOD. We’ve improved residuals for directors, which are now shared with assistant directors and stage managers.
- High Budget Dramatic AVOD Terms and Conditions: We’ve achieved new terms, creative rights protections, working conditions, and improved closeouts — including UPMs and assistant directors — for our members working on script projects made available for free on consumer streaming services like Freevee, Tubi, and Roku.
- Feature Directors: For the first time, we received compensation for the months of “soft prep” that feature directors currently do for free before the director’s official prep phase begins.
- Episode Directors: For pay-TV and SVOD, Episodic Directors were granted expanded post-production fee-based creative rights and an additional guaranteed shooting day for hour-long programs. Together, these improvements result in a 28 percent increase in the guaranteed minimum royalty for most directors working on hour-long pay-TV or high-budget SVOD series, from $50,764 to $64,960 over the life of the agreement.
- Reduction of hours: We have achieved a very important one hour reduction in the Deputy Director’s working hours.
- Security: We have made tangible safety advances, including a pilot program requiring the employment of dedicated safety officers and risk assessment; expanded safety training programs for directors and their teams, and a ban on live ammunition on set.
Here is a chart and summary sent to members that includes all the key business points.
“In addition to these breakthroughs,” she wrote, “we’ve increased studio transparency on balance sheet reporting, which will result in stronger enforcement and higher balance sheets, made improvements to diversity and inclusion, added Juneteenth as a paid holiday, and many additional benefits for Members created.” in all categories.
“These achievements are the result of a year and a half of research and preparation, and weeks of incredibly complex negotiations by an extraordinary team: negotiation chair Jon Avnet and co-chairs Karen Gaviola and Todd Holland, our national executive director Russell Hollander, and our negotiation committee of more than 80 members all categories. In addition, I would like to recognize the heroic efforts of Creative Rights Chairs Thomas Schleich and Nicole Kassell for their work in advancing the creative rights of our television directors. I am so proud of all the phenomenal efforts of our members who took part in the negotiations along with our outstanding professional DGA staff and thank everyone involved for their efforts in achieving an excellent new contract for all DGA members.
“I am proud to present this agreement to you for your approval. We are also planning a series of meetings for members to learn more about the new agreement and ask questions. We will send this information shortly.
“This ballot represents your highest responsibility as a Guild member and is at the core of why the Guild has existed and remained strong for nearly 90 years – to protect your economic and creative rights and freedoms. The Negotiating Committee and the Guild National Board unanimously recommend – and enthusiastically – that you vote YES to ratify the Accords.”