Directors Guild of America Members Ratify Film-TV Contract by ‘Overwhelming’ Margin

Members of the Directors Guild of America have approved a three-year successor deal to the DGA master contract covering feature film and primetime television.

The DGA made the announcement Friday, saying its members had backed the agreement by an “overwhelming” margin. The new deal goes into effect on July 1 and will run through June 30, 2023.

The agreement came a month after its negotiators reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The DGA national board announced on March 7 that it had approved the deal unanimously and revealed that the agreement includes a significant increase in residuals for high-budget streaming content, pension, wages and TV creative rights. That triggered a ratification vote by the 18,000-plus members of the guild.

DGA president Thomas Schlamme said in a statement, “I am proud to report that our membership overwhelmingly voted to ratify the new contract. In a time of enormous uncertainty as we’re all feeling the weight of this current pandemic, it is at least reassuring for our members to know that when the industry resumes production, a strong new agreement awaits them.”

“The agreement contains important gains in key areas, including dramatic improvements in SVOD residuals and coverage; a significant increase in funding for our Pension Plan to secure our retirement promises now and into the future; healthy wage increases; and significant wins in television creative rights. This was a complex negotiation, and our thanks go to our Negotiating Committee, led by Negotiations Co-Chairs Jon Avnet and Todd Holland, our National Executive Director Russell Hollander, and our excellent professional staff.”

The DGA said Friday that gains include: significant increases in residuals for members working on original SVOD series, and structural changes maximizing the number of SVOD productions subject to the terms of the new agreement; increases in employer contributions to the pension plan; annual wage increases (2.5% in the first year, 3% in the second and third); significant gains in television creative rights; and important commitments with respect to diversity and inclusion. The new agreement also includes advances for members working in non-dramatic programming, safety, as well as a number of other improvements.

More to come…