Negotiating Table

(From the DGA Quarterly Article, Winter 2006 Issue)

Negotiations occur with such regularity, about every three years, it’s easy to forget how far directors and their teams have come in a relatively short time. Residuals, pension, health, minimums, director’s cut, credits—just about everything that DGA members now take for granted were achieved through high-stakes negotiation between the Guild and representatives of the studios, networks and producers.

The DGA and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers reach an accord on a new contract in 2004.

“From the moment a Guild member takes a project, and in perpetuity through residuals, what it means to be part of a DGA team came about through decades of negotiation, a lot of hard work and planning,” says Jay D. Roth, national executive director and chief negotiator since he joined the Guild in 1996.

Negotiations have achieved fundamental gains in economic and creative rights, as well as credits, qualification lists, the grievance and arbitration process, and other areas affecting members. Economic advancements range from base-level minimum wages and working conditions to residuals, pension and health plans and jurisdiction over existing or emerging forms of production.

The Guild’s major contracts are the Basic Agreement, the Freelance Live and Tape Television Agreement, the Network Agreement and the Commercials Contract. The Basic Agreement was established soon after the then-Screen Directors Guild was recognized by the studios as a collective bargaining unit in 1939. While the BA covered feature film work, a separate contract, the Network Staff Agreement, arose in the 1950s to cover staff and freelance employees at ABC, NBC and CBS. The rise of independently-produced live and taped television production in the 1970s led to the FLTTA. A separate Commercials Contract covers members in that field.

The DGA Basic Agreement

Creative rights arose to protect the artistic integrity of the director, from time allotted for preparation to the right to a director’s cut and participation throughout post-production. Prior to 1964, directors had no guaranteed right to deliver their cut of a film or TV program. Unless they had the clout to negotiate that right, directors were limited to viewing the first rough cut and making suggestions to an associate producer. Concern about this issue led to the concept of creative rights and, in 1964, a negotiated right to a director’s cut. Dozens of other rights have followed, enabling directors to better realize their vision.