An Associate Director/Stage Manager Guide for Negotiating a Sideletter 6 Deal

Here is a brief summary of those benefits. A more detailed checklist follows that you can use as a negotiation tool when setting the terms and conditions of your employment on a basic cable non-dramatic program with the employer.

(1) Additional payments when:

• You work into overtime;
• You don’t receive a 9-hour rest period;
• You work on a DGA recognized holiday;
• If you are on a weekly and you work a 6th or 7th day.

(2) Travel benefits:

• Travel and living expenses are covered;
• Mileage is reimbursed;
• First Class hotel accommodations during overnight assignments;
• A per diem rate if on a distant location;
• Business-class air travel for nonstop, domestic flights more than 1,000 miles, except for those between L.A. and Vancouver and the U.S. and Toronto can be coach.

(3) Cancellation of calls:

• If employment is cancelled, employee will be paid the agreed upon rate.

(4) Other benefits can include:

• Vacation pay at 4% of gross compensation;
• Pension and health contributions at 16% of compensation (5.5% pension and 10.5% health); 14.5% health contributions will be made on vacation pay;
• A Production Fee on camera rehearsal and blocking days;
• Prep time on variety programs;
• Reasonable time for meal periods.

For more information, see the DGA Freelance and Tape Television Agreement Standard Terms of Conditions Checklist (attached). Or contact, Lisa Layer, Associate Western Executive Director, (310) 289-2067, lisal@dga.org in Los Angeles; or Michael Berger, Assistant Executive Director, (212) 258-0802, mberger@dga.org in New York.

DGA FREELANCE LIVE AND TAPE TELEVISION AGREEMENT (FLTTA) GUIDE TO NEGOTIATING A DEAL FOR WORK IN BASIC CABLE
JULY 1, 2015 - JUNE 30, 2016

The terms aside from general coverage and pension and health contributions are completely negotiable for non-dramatic basic cable programs, so this document details the basic terms and conditions for work on network non-dramatic program to lend guidance to negotiating a deal with a signatory company for a non-dramatic basic cable program.

1. Rates/Hours Worked

• Employee is entitled to a 9 hour rest period. Invasion of such minimum period shall be compensated at one third of the applicable overtime rate for each hour of invasion, payable in quarter hour increments if you are employed on a daily or weekly flat (12 hour) rate. If you are employed on a daily 8 or weekly 40, the additional payment is one third of the applicable overtime rate, computed in quarter hour segments.
• Holiday pay – DGA-covered employees shall be compensated 150% (an additional half day’s salary) for each holiday worked. Holidays shall include New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas. If a holiday is not worked, but falls within a week assignment, the Company shall pay the Employee his or her salary for such day.

2. Workweek

• For weekly employees, work on a 6th or 7th day shall be paid at time-and-one-half or the pro rata hourly rate of pay for all hours worked, with a minimum payment of 150%.

3. Travel/Mileage

• Employee shall be credited with a day of work for each day spent traveling, traveling and working, or for an idle day on location at a remote assignment.
• On all remote and distant location assignments, the Company will pay all traveling and living expenses, and, if the assignment is overnight, the Company will provide first class hotel accommodations, one to a room.
• the flight is non-stop from departure point to final destination, provided that the Employer must provide elevated coach class travel when available. In addition, flights between Los Angeles and Vancouver and flights that are less than 1,000 miles between the US and Toronto may be coach class.
  
  Baggage fees and in-flight meals for coach class air travel shall be reimbursed, provided that a request for reimbursement with appropriate receipts is submitted within 30 days after the flight.
  
  All other flights shall be business class when available and, if not available, first class.
  
  If an Employee covered under this Agreement is traveling on the same flight as another employee employed on the same production by the same Employer and the other employee is entitled to travel in a higher class of transportation pursuant to the minimum terms of the collective bargaining agreement under which he/she is employed, then the Employee covered under this Agreement shall be upgraded to the same class of transportation as is afforded to the other employee.
• Should Employee consent to Employer’s request to use his/her own automobile, Employee shall be compensated at the rate of $.30 per mile for travel necessitated by the Employer, plus tolls and parking expenses.

4. Vacation Pay will be paid at 4% of gross compensation.

5. Pension and Health Contributions will be made at the rate of 16% of compensation (5.5% pension and 10.5% health); additionally 14.5% health contributions will be made on vacation pay.

6. Cancellation of Calls. No call from the Company engaging Employee may be cancelled. If such employment is cancelled, Employee shall be paid the agreed upon rate.

7. Other conditions, from FLTTA Article 10, Part 1 Prime-Time Dramatic Programs [NOTE: These conditions apply only to dramatic programs produced under FLTTA, but can also be considered.]:

• Completion of Assignment Pay (“COA”)– For AD/SM’s employed at least four (4) days per week shall receive one (1) week’s pay if employed two (2) or more consecutive weeks, or two and a half (2 ½) days of pay if employed under two (2) weeks. COA shall be based on actual (including overscale) salary paid and shall be computed by totaling all compensation earned and dividing the total by the number of weeks worked. Production Fees and Rest Period Invasion payments are excluded from this computation.
• Unworked Holiday Pay – Daily AD/SM’s shall receive an additional 3.719% of their compensation for all unworked holidays, payable by check sent to employee by April 15 in the calendar year subsequent to the year in which such earnings were accumulated; computation may offset any such day which has been paid as part of employee’s compensation on distant location. Weekly AD/SM’s shall be paid the amount by which such 3.719% computation exceeds the amount of unworked holiday pay such employee has received for such period. DGA-covered employees must be compensated 200% (an additional day’s salary) for each holiday worked, or no offset will be permissible. All computations are based on annual earnings.
• Alternate Overtime – When any combination of three (3) or less Associate Director(s)/Stage Manager(s) are employed, overtime from 13-16 hours shall be an additional half day’s salary, and an additional day’s pay for any work over 16 hours for each 4 hour period worked or fraction thereof.
• Alternate 7th Day Pay – If you are employed on a weekly, 200% (an additional day’s salary) shall be paid for any work on a 7th consecutive day worked, including production fees. Compensation for work on a 6th consecutive day is the same (150%) for dramatic as non-dramatic programming, however the production fees are higher for dramatic programming.

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