DGA Members Approve Film and TV Contract By Overwhelming Margin
The members of the Directors Guild of America overwhelmingly approved the new collective bargaining agreement between the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), president Thomas Schlamme announced Friday.
The three-year deal takes effect beginning on July 1, 2020 and will run through June 30, 2023. Negotiations between the DGA and the AMPTP concluded March 4.
“I am proud to report that our membership overwhelmingly voted to ratify the new contract. In a time of enormous uncertainty as we’re all feeling the weight of this current pandemic, it is at least reassuring for our members to know that when the industry resumes production, a strong new agreement awaits them,” Schlamme said in a statement. “The agreement contains important gains in key areas, including dramatic improvements in SVOD residuals and coverage; a significant increase in funding for our Pension Plan to secure our retirement promises now and into the future; healthy wage increases; and significant wins in television creative rights. This was a complex negotiation, and our thanks go to our Negotiating Committee, led by negotiations co-Chairs Jon Avnet and Todd Holland, our national executive director Russell Hollander, and our excellent professional staff.”
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The new agreement increase residuals for members working on original SVOD series by 50%, bringing the three-year residual for a 60-minute series on the highest subscriber SVOD services to more than $73,000. General wage and residual base will also increase by 2.5% in the first year of the agreement and 3% in the second and third years of the agreement.
There will also be increased funding for the DGA-Producer Pension Plan, with the employer contribution rate to the Pension Plan permanently increasing by 1% in the first year of the agreement from 7% to 8%.
In addition, the Guild secured a commitment from the film studios to meet with the DGA twice yearly to discuss ongoing efforts to expand feature film directing opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups.
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Talks were led by negotiations committee co-chairs Jon Avnet and Todd Holland and the DGA’s chief negotiator, national executive director Russell Hollander. Television Creative Rights negotiations were chaired by Paris Barclay and co-chaired by Matthew Penn.
The deal was approved by the National Board for the DGA on Mar. 7, and then voting was opened to members on Mar. 11, shortly before the coronavirus began shutting down productions industry-wide.
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