December 1, 2016
DGA members have voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new three-year Network Staff Agreements. The three-year collective bargaining agreements between the DGA and ABC, CBS and NBC cover staff and freelance members employed in news, sports and operations at the companies’ television networks and at a number of their owned local television stations. Voting, which closed on November 21, came after the DGA National Board’s approval in October. The Network Agreements are separate from the Guild’s Basic Agreement and are also negotiated every three years.
The negotiations between the DGA’s Network Negotiations Committee and ABC, CBS and NBC began in September in New York and concluded in early October. The Committee was headed by Chair John LiBretto and Associate National Executive Director Russell Hollander, with Co-Chairs Scott Berger and Brett Holey also assisting.
The new contracts, which will cover the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020, incorporate wage and pension increases, as well as other gains. New provisions include:
- Increased wages and fees by 2% in the first year of the contract, and 2.5% in both the second and third years for a compounded wage increase of 7.2% over the term of the Agreement;
- Increased Employer contribution to the DGA-Producer Pension Plan by 0.5%, to a total of 6%. In the second and third years of the Agreements, the DGA will also have the right to divert 0.5% of the negotiated wage increase to either the DGA pension or health plan;
- Provisions to address opportunities for DGA members to work on new media projects and assignments;
- Provisions to address various concerns of Local Station directors related to jurisdiction, long hours and compensation.
photos by Scott L. Rindenow