The Directors Guild of America on Thursday night said it approved a four-year contract with major studios.
The new contract will boost studio contributions to DGA’s healthcare plan, increase minimum salaries and offer AI protections. The DGA declined to say how many voted in favor of the contract, but in a memo to members, union President Christopher Nolan and National Executive Director Russell Hollander said members “voted overwhelmingly” to ratify it.
“Throughout this process, our focus was clear: protect our members, strengthen the Guild, and address the challenges facing our industry during a period of profound change,” Nolan and Hollander wrote in a memo to members sent on Thursday. “… We have achieved critical wins that put the Guild in a position to further protect our members economic and creative rights now and into the future.”
The newly ratified contract provides some stability in Hollywood, about three years after a summer of strikes led by Writers Guild of America and performers guild SAG-AFTRA. WGA approved a contractwith major studios under the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in April and SAG-AFTRA members ratifiedtheir contract in June. All the contracts extend the terms to four years instead of three years, which studios had sought out.
The AMPTP in a statement thanked DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA “for their thoughtful and collaborative approach to negotiations.”
“Together, we reached agreements that deliver substantial gains for guild members while supporting greater stability across the entertainment business,” the AMPTP said. “We are encouraged by the trust built throughout this cycle and look forward to building on that momentum to advance opportunity and shared success across our industry.”
The new DGA contract starts on July 1 and runs through June 30, 2030. Key aspects of the agreement include major studios increasing their contribution to DGA’s health plan by 24.4% over four years. In return, the DGA would recommend changes to its plan’s trustees including “modest” increases to the eligibility threshold and annual premiums.
The contract also increases minimum salaries on many jobs by 2.5% in the first year and up 3% for each of the following years in the agreement.
The contract also adds more rules around the use of AI technology, including requiring that directors oversee any footage created by artificial intelligence.
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