DGA Monthly

2 I D G A M O N T H L Y On March 7, 2020, the DGA's National Board voted unanimously to approve and recommend for ratification a new three-year collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The vote took place at a special meeting that had been called in order to present details of the contract to the Board. "The future is what drives us, and that's what you see in this agreement," said DGA President Thomas Schlamme. "As the streaming sea change we anticipated for so long is now overhauling the industry, and new services continue to enter the market, this pivotal deal boosting streaming residuals beyond traditional TV levels is a major victory for our members thanks to our Negotiations Co-Chairs Jon Avnet and Todd Holland, and our fearless chief negotiator National Executive Director Russ Hollander. This was an incredibly complex negotiation, but we were well prepared thanks to what we as directors do best: extensive planning, research and preparation. Our over 80-member Negotiations Committee and our professional DGA staff synthesized massive amounts of data, analysis and member feedback to make these substantial gains a reality." As streaming continues to overtake other forms of distribution and expand in scope, the DGA's negotiations priorities were again focused squarely on SVOD. Just since 2016, the number of made-for-SVOD episodes has nearly doubled, and that's before taking into account the new wave of major streaming services being launched including Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Peacock. "What we accomplished in streaming cannot be overstated. With the continued spike in streaming production, this deal further entrenches our members' ability to share in the success of their work, increasing residuals by nearly 50% to more than $73,000 for three years of exhibition," added Avnet. "And with the elimination of grandfathering, our members working on existing series will also benefit. It wasn't easy, but we had over 80 sets of hands in the negotiating room to push that daunting boulder out of our path. Our members are in prime position for the future." "We have reached an outstanding deal for our members, and for the industry. Together with these impressive gains in SVOD residuals, we broke through the impenetrable 3% ceiling in our economic package in the first year of the agreement, attaining strong wage gains while also achieving another major priority: securing our members' retirement plans well into the future," said Holland. "Additionally, we made strong advances in TV director creative rights and attained the near impossible on theatrical feature film director inclusion after many years of pushing employers to budge on the issue. This is the start of a new day." "The issues we dealt with in this negotiation were complicated and intense," said Hollander. "But in the end we came out on the other side with significant gains in SVOD, wages, pension and creative rights. This is a forward-looking agreement that will keep our members working and well protected for many years to come." Formal negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers began on Monday, February 10, 2020 and concluded on March 4. Talks were led by Negotiations Committee Co-Chairs Jon Avnet and Todd Holland and the DGA's Chief Negotiator, National Executive Director Russell Hollander. Television Creative Rights Negotiations were Chaired by Paris Barclay and Matthew Penn. DGA Negotiations Co-Chair Todd Holland, National Executive Director Russell Hollander and Negotiations Co-Chair Jon Avnet DGA National Board Approves Tentative New Agreement Hollander briefs the DGA Negotiations Committee members on the proposals. photos by Tricia Noble/DGA Staff The DGA and the AMPTP shake hands on a tentative new agreement.

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