January 25, 2017
Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay today announced that the DGA membership has voted by an overwhelming margin to ratify the new collective bargaining agreements between the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
“I am happy to report that the DGA membership overwhelmingly voted to ratify the new contract,” said Barclay. “Our major gains in SVOD residuals, together with our improvements in wages and pensions, were the result of our forward-thinking preparation. With the groundwork already laid in previous negotiations, this new contract embodies what we knew was possible when we established our first New Media agreement nearly a decade ago. All our thanks go to our Negotiating Committee, led by Co-Chairs Michael Apted and Thomas Schlamme, and National Executive Director Jay Roth, as well as our Guild’s professional staff, for all their determination and hard work.”
Formal negotiations with the AMPTP began on Monday, December 5, and concluded three weeks later on Friday, December 23. Talks were led by Negotiations Committee Co-Chairs Michael Apted and Thomas Schlamme and the DGA’s chief negotiator, National Executive Director Jay D. Roth. On December 29, the DGA’s National Board of Directors unanimously recommended sending the contract to members for ratification. Ratification voting opened on January 4, and the results were finalized tonight after the deadline.
Gains include significant increases in SVOD residuals; increases in employer contributions to the pension plan; annual wage increases (2.5% in the first year, 3% in the second and third); increases in nearly all residuals bases; and a provision addressing the lack of TV directing opportunities for aspiring career Directors. The new agreement also includes provisions addressing safety, improvements in creative rights – including expanded rights of members when their work is shown theatrically as well as provisions addressing late scripts – and specific advances that pertain to members of the Director’s team.
The new contract’s three-year term will take effect on July 1, 2017 and will run through June 30, 2020.