Directors and studios reach deal on a new labor pact
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That didn’t take long, but then it rarely does with the directors. The Directors Guild of America and the major studios said Tuesday that they had concluded a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.
Neither the DGA nor the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the studios, would disclose terms of the agreement, which was widely anticipated.
The DGA, which has 14,500 members, said it would release details of the proposed deal once it has been submitted to the guild’s national board for approval at a special meeting this Wednesday.
The tentative accord is is expected to mirror a similar contract recently negotiated by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. That agreement provided 2% annual pay raises and higher contributions to the unions’ health and pension plans, which also had been a top priority for the DGA.
The AMPTP said in a statement that the agreement demonstrated ‘the benefits of an early deal for the entire entertainment industry. These early talks allowed us to bridge the gaps created by uncertain economic times and deliver increases in areas critical to DGA members.’
The DGA’s announcement came three weeks after contract negotiations began. The current contract -expires on June 30.
-- Richard Verrier
