Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/790371
59 Q1 2017 / CINEMONTAGE American Free Trade Agreement that allowed Canada to subsidize its film and TV industry while undermining America's. DGA APPROVES AGREEMENT WITH AMPTP Contract talks with the Producers began in earnest on December 5, starting with the Directors Guild (DGA). If past practice holds, there will be a series of pattern bargaining conferences behind closed doors. The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG‐AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) come next. The International Alliance of International Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) follows. The schedule gives IA members lots of time to consider items to add to the negotiating agenda. The DGA's membership approved a three‐ year agreement at the end of January, writes Dave McNary in Variety. The DGA represents over 16,000 members. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) represents over 350 production companies and studios. DGA president Paris Barclay praised the negotiating team: "This excellent deal is the result of more than a year of research and preparation, and weeks of tough negotiations led by our Negotiations Co-Chairs Michael Apted and Thomas Schlamme, and our intrepid chief negotiator, National Executive Director Jay Roth." The DGA said residuals for dramatic programs made for High-Budget Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) were a focal point of the negotiations. These provisions apply to distributors that include Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. The DGA said its new contract language on streaming "more than triples residuals for members working on original content in the highest subscriber tier, while also allowing new and emerging entrants to the market the opportunity to grow as they develop their services." The guild also said the deal establishes residuals payments for high- budget feature‐length projects. The new deal also includes base wage increases of 2.5 percent in the first year of the agreement and 3 percent in the second and third years. The DGA added that the employer contribution rate to the pension plan will increase by one-half percent in the first year of the agreement. Roth announced his retirement after 22 years, in January. FEW WANT ACA REPEALED WITHOUT REPLACEMENT As Congress struggles to find a way to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — aka Obamacare — a Kaiser Poll finds that 20 percent of Americans support repeal alone, while a surprising three‐quarters of those polled either oppose repeal altogether (47 percent) or want to wait before repealing the law until the replacement plan's details are better known (28 percent), write Rakesh Singh and Craig Palosky for the Kaiser Family Foundation in January. Overall, the poll finds that nearly equal shares say that the new Congress should vote to repeal the law (49 percent) or that it should not vote to repeal it (47 percent), which roughly reflects the public's overall views of the 2010 law (46 percent don't like it, 43 percent like it). The public ranks health care as a top issue for President Trump and the new Congress, but not the most important. About one in five (19 percent) name health care when asked about their top issue for 2017, behind jobs and the economy (24 percent) and immigration (20 percent). Among health-care priorities, three out of five (61 percent) say lowering the cost of prescription drugs should be a "top priority," while the next most highly ranked issue is the prescription pain‐killer addiction epidemic (45 percent), then repealing Obamacare (37 percent). About half of Republicans (53 percent) prefer limiting federal health spending and giving states and individuals more control. The majority of Democrats (79 percent) and independents (65 percent) prefer guaranteeing a certain level of LABOR MAT TERS Thomas Schlamme, Negotiations Co-Chair, left; Jay D. Roth, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator; Michael Apted, Negotiations Co-Chair. Photo by Tricia Noble, DGA