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The Negotiations under consideration are for the Guild’s Basic Agreement (BA) and Freelance Live and Tape Television Agreement (FLTTA). Our current contracts end on June 30, 2008. The Guild has a separate Network agreement regarding our members employed in news, sports and operations that also expires on June 30, 2008. On November 17, 2007, the DGA and the Networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) reached a tentative new three-year agreement covering Guild members in those areas. That agreement was reached in four days with a minimum of fanfare and achieved significant increases for our members working in those areas. The DGA also has a separate Commercial Agreement that does not expire until October 31, 2009 and is not a part of these upcoming negotiations.
2. What is the negotiations process and how are DGA members involved?
Most negotiations follow a basic pattern. The DGA president appoints, and the National Board approves, the chair and members to serve on the Negotiations Committee. In early 2007, Gil Cates was appointed as chair and the more than 50 members of the Negotiations Committee were selected. The Negotiations Committee members are representative of each Guild Category, are from both coasts and the majority of committee members have served in previous negotiations.
For the past year, subcommittees and member Councils on both coasts have been working with staff to create the bargaining proposals that will be presented to the AMPTP. The full Negotiations Committee has met four times since September 2007, most recently on December 6, 2007. Once a tentative agreement is reached with the AMPTP, it is presented to the DGA National Board to recommend whether to send it to members for final approval through balloting.
3. Who leads our negotiations?
The Chairman of the Negotiations Committee, Gil Cates, leads our negotiations along with our National Executive Director Jay D. Roth.
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Our contracts are the fundamental means by which the Guild protects and enhances its members’ economic and creative rights in the industry. In recent years, the B.A. and FLTTA have had three-year terms; negotiating the new agreements is our opportunity to improve and adapt the agreements to changing circumstances.
For the past 70 years, 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 the creation of base-level minimum wages and working conditions to residuals, pension and health plans and jurisdiction over existing or emerging forms of production. 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.
5. Why is there comparatively little in the press about the DGA’s approach to negotiations?
We do not consider our negotiations to be a public event. We have found that the best deals can be made when both parties are actively engaged at the negotiations table, without the added pressure of daily press scrutiny analyzing (and often mistinterpreting) every move. Our goal is the best deal possible for our members, not good press copy.
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While specific proposals will come from our negotiating committees, it is clear that the DGA will seek to improve upon the traditional economic rights already codified in our agreements with a specific focus on new media.
7. How have we prepared for our negotiations in New Media, when the future is currently so unclear?
The DGA has engaged expert consultants from across the country to develop forecasts and analyze future business models regarding new media use, penetration and monetization. We began this process in 2006 with a leadership retreat with five top consultants who were hired to help us begin a year and a half long process of understanding and interpreting the economics involved in new media and how to best seek the most appropriate copensation for our members in this emerging area. Our consultants and staff have been having regular presentations at National Board, Council and Negotiations Committee meetings throughout 2007 to share what we have learned with members and hear their feedback. We believe that good data is the foundation of good deals. It isn’t enough to know what you would like to achieve; it is necessary to have the solid foundation on which to build your argument.
